How often have we heard the doctor say, “Remember to take the full number of tablets.” but, when we feel better, we stop. It always seems such a waste. Antibiotics are expensive. We always justify keeping the half-empty bottle alongside all the others. You never know, we say to ourselves, they may come in useful. Except, they never do. So, when the day comes for clearing the shelves, what do we do with all these now unwanted drugs? In more innocent days, we might just have thrown them into the dumpster or flushed them down the toilet. Now we should think more about the consequences. Most of the trash from the dumpsters goes into landfill sites. Water washes through the mounds of rubbish, leaching all the chemicals into the ground. Over time, they move down to the water table and from there into streams and rivers. Similarly, what we flush down the toilets passes through the sewers directly into the local rivers or the nearby sea. Further downstream, river water gets taken up by the next town or city. It goes through the treatment plant and into the drinking water supply. Animals drink from the rivers and fish live in the sea. Water is used to irrigate the fields of produce. Over time, this cocktail of chemicals enters our food chain. We get to eat and drink the dilute mixture of drugs.
We should be taking care of the environment because we have to keep on living in it. If we grow tolerant of the drugs that keep us safe now, they will slowly lose their effectiveness. When we need to take them for real, they may not save us. Now add in the statistics that more people fall ill through accidental poisoning, overdoses and addiction than are injured in traffic accidents. Children are particularly at risk. As parents, we used to worry about leaving children alone in the house with bottles of liquor. Now we should be worried about leaving them in the house with bottles of pills. The younger children can mistake them for candy. The older ones may be tempted to try them to see whether they get high.
Many drugs are dangerous. Some are addictive. They should be locked safely away. If they are no longer of use, they should go from our homes. The best disposal programs are run by local police forces. They provide anonymous and secure drop-boxes where people may leave drugs for collection. The best disposal method is incineration at high temperatures. Although tramadol is not usually abused and only rarely causes problems if people take too much, it should still be disposed of safely. No matter what the drug, you should not keep it where it may be a temptation to your children or family members who have problems of addiction. So, when you buy tramadol or any other drug, you should follow your doctor’s directions and take all the tablets. If you have some left over, you should ask your local police department whether it has a disposal program. Should there be nothing arranged locally, be responsible in your disposal method. Our ecology links everything together and we should be aiming to leave a safe environment for our children.
Nursing home abuse is a terrible problem that is striking our country and leaving many of our sickest and neediest citizens helpless and in pain. Nursing homes are becoming more and more understaffed in the quest for a good profit margin, and the elderly residents of these nursing homes are the people who are suffering because of it. This danger is one that is heartbreakingly common, and one that should not be overlooked by families when looking into long term care facilities for their aging relatives.
It might seem insane to think that the very people who go to school for years in order to learn how to care for other people might be the very ones who are neglecting them, but nurse burnout is a terrible truth because of the way that our nurses are often treated themselves. Nurses are constantly overworked with far more patients than they have the time or ability to care for and told to do their best.
They are additionally dealing with patients who might be less than coherent and less than present mentally due to strokes or other medical conditions. This can lead to nurses having to deal with call buttons pressed constantly and adults who need to be cared for like infants.
When constantly overworked nurses and mediocre pay are combined with some of the neediest people in our society, things can get ugly. Nurses become exhausted and burn out, and many quit or go into different lines of work within a couple of years. Many other nurses become angry or frustrated enough to neglect or even outright abuse elderly patients in their care, especially when these patients cannot talk back or stand up for themselves anymore.
The best way to protect your loved ones when they are put into long term care facilities is to be there for them in every way. Be physically present for visits as often as possible to help the nurses see your relative as a person, and not as just another job, and to keep them happier and more comfortable.
While you are at the nursing home, talk to your elderly relatives if they are still capable, and find out if there have been any problems for them. You should know immediately if a call button is broken or if it took too long for your old mother to get a glass of water. You might be tempted to dismiss their complaints as exaggeration, however your relative might also have been neglected while you were away. It is always better to be safe and check in with the nursing staff to make sure that your relative’s needs are being met.
Some of the other signs of nursing home abuse include mysterious injuries like bruises or broken bones. If a patient is having a hard time getting the attention or care that they deserve, they may become worked up enough to try to move from their bed to help themselves, sometimes resulting in falls and injuries.
In other cases, they may be subjected to other forms of abuse such as being strapped into their beds or actually being physically beaten by staff members. Do not assume abuse at the first sign of injury, but listen carefully to how it was supposed to have happened and watch for further injuries to your elderly relatives.
Dehydration is another thing to watch out for when it comes to nursing home abuse. Your relative’s eyes should be moist, they should urinate regularly, and they should be able to produce spit. If they are being denied water, they could take a quick turn for the worse and pass away very quickly, so this is an important thing to watch out for, as is the parallel problem of malnutrition.
Bed sores also could be a sign that your relative is not being treated properly. If they are not being helped to turn over, they could develop painful sores that could even potentially become infected. Also watch for your relative’s behavior around the nurses. If they flinch away or act fearful around the nursing staff, it might be time to consider a new facility.
Elder abuse and nursing home abuse in particular is quite dangerous and a very sad reality of our society. Being present in the lives of our elderly relatives and paying careful attention to their behavior can help us to keep them out of bad situations and keep them safe and as comfortable as possible.
Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on injury cases involving Nursing Home Abuse, Nursing Home Neglect and Negligence. Visit http://www.topnursinghomelawyers.com or call 1-888-311-5522
Tags: nursing home
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