Doctors Are Giving Older People Bad Drugs
Sam Rolley | Aug 27, 2012 | Comments 3 |
As Americans age, the list of prescription medicines they consume each day seems to grow longer; but this may be leading to a rampant consumption of inappropriate, ineffective and sometimes downright dangerous medications.
One in five prescriptions given to people over the age of 65 is inappropriate for the condition which it is being used to treat, according to a new study in PLoS One. The researchers analyzed data from 19 previously conducted studies. They considered drugs inappropriate if they presented a higher risk of negative side effects than a similarly effective drug, was an insufficient treatment or was over- or mis-prescribed.
“In spite of increasing attention to the quality of medication prescription among elderly persons presenting to the primary care setting, there are still high overall rates of inappropriate medication prescription,” the study says.
The most commonly inappropriately prescribed drugs include drugs containing the pain reliever Propoxyphene, the antidepressant Amitriptiline, the beta-blocker Doxazosin and the antihistamine Diphenhydramine.
Filed Under: Alternative Medicine • Easy Health Options News • General Health • News and Views • Prescription Drugs and FDA
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I’m a nurse, I work in a nursing home, the pills for depression is widely used among the residents. I agree with what your reported test says about over use. All the appropriate test are given before any depression medicine is given but if the depression is due to poor nutrition isn’t part of the test. Food Pyramid or Plate portions nutrition is used.
Nutrition and Medical Practice
http://coconutcreamcare.com/category/nutrition-2/
My mother was put on an oral chemo drug called Revlamid it was a very new drug and it made her so sick and had a reverse reaction to her condition. She had multiple myoleoma. her blood count went down instead of up and she had to be hospitalized soon after the first week and then again a week later after she resumed the medication . She got so bad she had to have transfusions ( 5 ) and they took her off the drug. We had to report any ill effects by phone as required when taking this drug. I hope it is off the market.
There might be a number of incidence wherein doctor’s have given you a wrong medication but you can greatly notice it within yourself and immediately complain about your feeling of discomfort.