(1)

Prescription abuse in the elderly is not something we think would be a problem, however it can be. My grandmother was over medicating herself for months, and it took a lot of observation and questioning to figure this out. She suffers from Alzheimer’s and would forget that she had already taken her evening pills and would take them again. When this would happen she would randomly get nauseated, or pass out and have to be taken to the ER, finally it was determined that she was just over medicating. I think it is important to monitor the elderly and their intake of prescription drugs, as they age their tolerance for certain medications can lessen which can lead to more issues for them. Whether they mean to abuse prescription drugs or not, it can affect their physical and mental abilities.

(2)

Prescription drug abuse in elderly adults is a critical concern because elderly adults are prescribed numerous medications by healthcare physicians and this increases the risk of dependency and abuse. Elderly adults are prescribed medications to treat problematic medical concerns such as pain and anxiety. Elderly adults may risk becoming addicted to opioids or benzodiazepines by overmedicating or combining numerous medications with an end goal to alleviate their symptoms or condition. Elderly adults who are prescribed pain and/or anxiety medications may abuse and become dependent without realizing they are doing so. As people age their memory may become foggy, unclear, and confused, which are similar side-effects of prescribed pain and anxiety medications. In addition, lack of memory may cause an elderly adult to become forgetful of daily medications and consequently retake medications they already took for the day. This allows drug dependency to form in elderly adults that will need treatment and intervention to remedy the addiction.

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