Learn More: Ten Medications Older Adults Should Avoid or Use with Caution (2024)

FAQs

Learn More: Ten Medications Older Adults Should Avoid or Use with Caution? ›

Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), and chlordiazepoxide (Librium). Sleeping pills such as zaleplon (Sonata), zolpidem (Ambien), and eszopiclone (Lunesta). Antidepressants amitriptyline (Elavil) and imipramine (Tofranil). Anti-Parkinson drug trihexyphenidyl (Artane).

Pain Medication (NSAIDs)

People with chronic kidney disease or chronic renal failure should avoid all non-aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs). People with a history of falls should avoid benzodiazepines, such as: alprazolam (Xanax) lorazepam (Ativan)

As the body ages, changes can decrease the body's ability to break down or remove certain medications from the system. This may mean that medications can stay in your body longer. So, an older adult may need a lower dose of the medication or a different medication that is safer.

Opioid pain medications commonly cause confusion and drowsiness in older adults. Constipation, urination problems, and slowed breathing are also possible. Meperidine is one opioid that should be avoided in older adults. That's because it may be more likely to cause confusion.

Physiological changes can cause adverse reactions

These physiological changes include increased body fat, decreased body water, decreased muscle mass, and changes in renal and liver function and in the Central Nervous System. These changes can cause adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in older people.

Inappropriate medication use (IMU) by elderly people is a public health problem associated with adverse effects on health. There are a number of methods for identifying IMU, some involving clinical judgment and others, consensually generated lists of drugs to be avoided.

#1 Polypharmacy

Since people tend to have more health concerns as they age, polypharmacy is more common in older adults. The consistent use of multiple drugs increases the potential for drug interactions and adverse reactions to one or more of their medications.

Antidepressants, muscle relaxants, and antihypertensives should be used with caution in older adults who are at risk of falls and syncope. These drugs may cause impaired proprioception and may impair the balance.

What is the most common medication problem in the elderly? ›

Drug-related problems are common in older adults and include drug ineffectiveness, adverse drug effects, overdosage, underdosage, inappropriate treatment, inadequate monitoring, nonadherence, and drug interactions.

Reasons for Drug-Related Problems. Adverse drug effects can occur in any patient, but certain characteristics of older adults make them more susceptible. For example, older adults often take multiple drugs and have age-related changes in pharmacodynamics and pharmaco*kinetics; both increase the risk of adverse effects.

Risk Factors for Substance Use Disorders in Older Adults

Alcohol is the most used drug among older adults, with about 65% of people 65 and older reporting high-risk drinking, defined as exceeding daily guidelines at least weekly in the past year.

Also, consider avoiding aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen entirely if you're older than 75, taking an oral steroid, or taking a prescription blood thinner. Heart failure or irregular heartbeat medication: digoxin (Lanoxin). Ask about safer alternatives.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is usually safer for older adults than other pain medicines. Topical pain medicines (also called topical analgesics) can also help.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen, can keep some prescription medications you take from working the way they should. They're often not a good combo with blood thinners, diabetes drugs, diuretics, or blood pressure drugs.

Health experts flag these types of medications as increasing falls risk: Psychoactive medications, including anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, opioids, and sedatives/hypnotics. Prescription and over-the-counter antihistamines. Muscle relaxants.

Antithrombotic agents, mainly aspirin and warfarin, were the drugs most frequently associated with ADR-related hospital admissions with 33% of ADR-related hospital admissions citing gastrointestinal haemorrhage and vascular haemorrhagic disorders as the main adverse reactions.