A helpful tip – taking night time pills
June 25, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Since I began this blog, I’ve been encouraging readers to become participants by sending me tips on how they cope with living with chronic pain.
One tip came to me from an old friend Kathy who, unknown to me, has been reading Help My Hurt. She sent me a few great ideas, but I’m starting with this one. It’s great.
“To make sure that my middle of the night meds aren’t being taken in complete darkness, I have one of those tiny tap lights near my medication box. (the one I use is the Sylvania DOT-it Self-Adhesive Bright White Silver LED Light. There are many such lights available very cheaply) The little light doesn’t bother my husband when we’re sleeping, although I could turn on a huge spotlight, and he claims it wouldn’t bother him.”
One thing I’m constantly preaching is medication safety and not to take pills in the dark. Many of us don’t want to turn the light on, not only for others, but for ourselves. Having a bright light on ensures we’re wide awake and makes it that much harder for us to go back to sleep. So, Kathy’s idea is a wonderful one. Thanks Kathy!
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For my white ibuprofen and extra-strength acetaminophen bottles, I put a red nail-polish “I” and “X” (respectively) on the caps. In the middle of the night, I can easily see which is which without turning on the lights.