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Eyesight problems are common in older age. This can make managing medicines and reading medicine labels difficult. Here are some hints that might help you avoid mistakes and make life easier.

Make the most of your eyesight

• Have your vision checked regularly, and replace your glasses if advised.
• Keep a magnifying glass near your medicines, and use it to check the labels.
  
• Make sure the area where you keep and take your medicines has good lighting. A desk lamp may help.
• Keep a small, bright torch in your handbag or pocket for when you’re travelling or away from home.
  

Be organised

• Keep all the medicines you use regularly in one place.
• Mark similar medicine containers, so you know which is which and don’t confuse them. For example, you could distinguish similar packets by wrapping a rubber band around one, sticking a brightly coloured dot on their lids or bases, or using a thick felt pen to write a single letter on their lids or bases. Just make sure you don’t cover the medicine label or the instructions.
• Keep your medicines in their original containers, unless you use a medication organiser or dose administration aid.
• Store medicines that aren’t used regularly in a cool dry cupboard.
• Take any unused medicines to a pharmacy for disposal.

Help from your pharmacist

• Ask your pharmacist to give you the information that’s on the medicine label on a separate sheet of paper in large print. Unfortunately, pharmacists are not able to enlarge the print on the label, because there’s not enough space for all the information that’s legally required.
• Ask your pharmacist to give you the same brand of medicine each time. That way, the name, packaging, size, shape and colour of the medicine won’t change.
• Tell your pharmacist if you have any difficulties with your medicines. They may have some suggestions.
• All prescription medicines and some non-prescription medicines have a Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflet that gives you information about the medicine. Ask the pharmacist to print your medicine’s CMI leaflet in large print.

Medication organisers can help make sure that

you take the right medicine at the right time.

Use a medication organiser

Medication organisers are daily or weekly pill boxes that store each dose of your medicines in a separate compartment that is labelled according to the day and time of day it should be taken. Several types of medication organisers are available. Some you fill yourself, others are filled by a pharmacist.

Medication organisers you fill yourself can be bought from most pharmacies. Before buying one, make sure you can read the labels. Also, check that it is large enough to hold all your medicines, and that you can use it easily. If you have difficulty reading medicine labels or distinguishing the colour and shape of your medicines, get a family member or friend to fill it for you.

Better still, use a blister pack medication organiser, which is filled by a pharmacist. It stores each dose of your medicines in an individual blister or bubble.

One brand of blister pack, the Webster-pak LV (low vision), is specifically designed for people with low vision. It has the days and times of the day shown in large print. The print is white on a black background, which most people with poor vision find easier to read. When you’re ready to take your medicines, you simply push the medicines through the foil backing. Placing a bowl underneath stops the medicines being lost if accidentally dropped.

Talk to your pharmacist about putting your medicines in a blister pack. You will usually be charged $5–6 for the service. If your eyesight is deteriorating, start using a medication organiser sooner rather than later, so you get used to using it.

Audio and braille labels

Devices are now available to help people with little or no vision identify items like groceries, clothing and medicines. These include small barcode scanners and audio labellers that you use to ‘label’ your medicine containers by storing a voice recording of its name in the machine. When you want a specific medicine, you point the device at the medicine container, and it reads out the name of the container. The devices can be bought online from Vision Australia or by ringing 1300 847 466. Alternatively, you can use braille labels to identify containers by touch.