Darrick Robles Whether it’s your wallet, your own phone number or an appointment – forgetting something is completely normal and usually not a big deal. However, if you keep forgetting to take medications that you need regularly, you jeopardize their effectiveness. To prevent this, we have put together a few small reminders for you to take medication.
Why regularity matters
In order for a drug to be effective, certain conditions apply. Some medications only need to be used as needed – mostly because they directly relieve the associated symptoms. For example, sprays or ointments that relieve itching, painkillers, expectorants and many more.
However, numerous medications have to be taken regularly in order to successfully treat the causes of the complaints or the symptoms in the long term. The length of time and time of day you take the medication depend on the active ingredient and how quickly it breaks down.
It is often important for the success of a treatment that the medication is continued despite reduced symptoms. Especially when there are no more symptoms, many find it difficult to think about taking it regularly. The regularity is often the reason for the freedom from symptoms in the first place.
That’s why we have a few tips for you here, with which you don’t endanger the success of the treatment despite spontaneous forgetfulness. And it doesn’t matter if you only need to take medication for a limited time or permanently.
memory helper
In most cases, forgetting to take a dose once isn’t so tragic. It only becomes critical for the success of the treatment if the medication is taken irregularly. Sometimes we don’t forget that we have to take pills, but whether we have already taken them today or not. Here are a few basic tips for taking medication regularly:
- Try to follow a daily routine that is as regular as possible. This makes it easier for you to stick to rituals.
- Tell your family or friends about taking your medication regularly and ask them to be happy to remind you of it from time to time.
- Store your medicines ready to hand and, if possible, in a place that you regularly monitor , e.g. B. next to the coffee machine or next to the toothbrush.
These reminders are designed to help you keep track of your medication intake.
1. Pill box
The pill box is a very reliable memory aid because it tells you exactly when you have already taken your medicines. Thus, they can prevent you from taking too much of your medication. It is particularly useful for those who regularly have to take more than one tablet. The boxes come in different designs, either with one compartment per day of the week or one compartment per time of day.
2. Reminder-Apps
There are now a large number of reminder and tracking apps for taking medication. Depending on your needs, many of these apps can also be personalized and tailored to your personal needs. The advantage is that not only do you get a proactive reminder on your smartphone, you can also indicate in the app afterwards that you have taken your medication.
3. Alarm clock
Very classic and also possible without a smartphone: an alarm clock. This method is especially useful for those who generally forget that they need to take something. The medication alarm clock is particularly useful if you don’t have a very regular daily routine. However, it does require you to carry your medication with you at all times. If you manage to always stick to your medication in time for the alarm clock to ring, then there is no need to ask whether you took the medication at all.
4. Drug plan
A medication plan is the offline version of the reminder app and is particularly useful if you have to take several medications. With the help of a medication plan, you can record exactly when you need to take which medication and you can also tick the box when you have taken it. Therefore, you should always have the plan at hand. Hang it on the fridge or the bathroom mirror, for example. The medication plan can be perfectly combined with the medication alarm clock. Anyone who absolutely refuses the pill box and doesn’t feel like the constantly ringing smartphone is well advised to use this paper version.
5. Label medicines
A very clever reminder is to label the tablet packaging yourself – similar to the birth control pill. To do this, you label each tablet with a date on the back of the blister (i.e. the strip of tablets). This is particularly useful if you or your child only have to take one pill a day, such as vitamin pills. This memory aid can also be easily combined with a classic alarm clock.
