Remembering to take your medicines takes effort at the best of times, but it can become hard work if your normal routine gets thrown out the window for whatever reason. Here are some suggestions to make it a bit easier.

Get organised

You can't take your medicines if you don't have them, so make sure you always have an adequate supply on hand.

Store all your prescriptions in a folder. Many pharmacists have special prescription folders, so ask your pharmacist if they have one they can give you.

In the folder, keep a list of all your medicines that you can use as a checklist. If you don't have a complete, up-to-date list, ask your doctor to print out one for you next time you visit them for a consultation.

If you know in advance that your normal routine is going to be disrupted, get organised beforehand and make sure you have enough prescriptions and medicines to see you through the period. If not, make the time every so often to check that you have enough prescriptions and medicines. If you regularly take over-the-counter medicines, add them to the list, and check your supply of them at the same time.

If you use a weekly medication organiser, when filling it, check that you've got enough of each medicine for the following week. If not, write the name of the medicine on your shopping list, so you remember to replenish your supply in the next week. If you run out of a medicine, never be tempted to 'borrow' a few tablets from a relative or friend with the same health problem. When prescribing your medicine, your doctor will have taken into account your other medicines and health conditions. Your relative's or friend's medicine may interact with one of your medicines or may worsen one of your conditions.

Set up reminders

Taking your medicines at the same time each day is important, so try to maintain your normal schedule as closely as possible. For example, if you take your medicines with meals, continue doing so.

Also, try to use your normal reminders if possible. If that's not possible, try setting up similar reminders. For example, if you normally take your medicines after brushing your teeth, consider storing your medicines in your sponge bag or putting a reminder note in your toothbrush holder if you're away from home.

Well placed medication organisers can be very effective reminders. Consider having more than one organiser, so you can keep them in different places. For example, you might keep the one containing your morning medicines with your clothes, and the one containing your evening medicines next to your bed. Similarly, storing medicines taken during the day in a small pill box in your handbag or pocket that you see or feel every time you use your wallet or handkerchief may be helpful.

Learning how to set up and use the alarm on your mobile phone may also be helpful, especially for medicines taken in the middle of the day. If you don't have a mobile phone, ask a relative or friend who will be with you if they can do it for you. Similarly, telling your relatives or friends when you take your medicines and asking them to remind you at those times can be helpful.

Keep out of reach of children

Many accidental poisonings of young children occur when families are on the move, on holiday or have visitors, because people forget to keep medicines out of reach of young children. If you're likely to be around young children, take the time to make sure that all your medicines are well out of their reach. If using a Webster pack, don't assume that because the medicines are in blister packaging they are safe from children.