Medication abuse is a common problem associated with the elderly. The term is used to define situations when a patient does not follow the prescription when it comes to taking medication, uses medication not prescribed for him, or when he uses the prescribed medication in combination with other non-prescribed ones.

Since the use of medication goes up as one grows older, illnesses related to drugs are higher among senior citizens; between 12 to 15 percent of senior citizens resort to prescription drug abuse. Apart from the health hazards that result from medication abuse, Medicare had to shell out $233 million in 1989 towards illnesses due to substance abuse. The amount has obviously gone up by leaps and bound by now. Unfortunately, physicians are often unable to correctly diagnose medication abuse in the elderly, and family members fail to notice it too. With only 37 percent of medication abuse cases being recognized in those who are more than 60 years old, there a number of reasons why doctors are not able to correctly identify substance abuse in the elderly. For starters, there is the discomfort factor attached to stating that an old person may be guilty of abuse.

The other prime reason is the sheer lack of awareness. Medication abuse by the elderly is divided into prescription and non-prescription abuse. Narcotics (Librium) and Benzodiazepines (Valium) are the two common drugs that fall in the prescription abuse category, while over-the-counter sleeping pills fall in the non-prescription abuse one.

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• Elderly Abuse History
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• Elderly Abuse Psychology
• Elderly Abuse Stats
• Medication Abuse In The Elderly