Old Age and Medicine.

Along with the responsibilities of old age, comes a series of ailments, and an even bigger list of medicines, to ease, control and cure them. A survey reads that in today’s day and age, four out of five people aged over 75 years take one medicine, and 36% of this population take four or more medicines, and that brings to light the impending role of medicines in their lives. However, the aging body can be more susceptible to the side effects of medicines than any other age group. Elderly people with multiple diseases can often end up taking multiple medicines at the same time. With multiple medicines, there is an increased chance of side effects, interactions between different medicines and problems taking them correctly. The physical effects of aging, such as arthritis and failing eyesight and memory, can also cause issues in taking medicines the way the doctor intends to.

One is bombarded, with n number options available in the sector of health insurance; however, as soon as 50 kicks in, the options gets limited and an individual finds himself compromising with his requirements, where most insurers are not ready to cover them against the sky rocketing frequent medical requirements. Senior citizen policies are expensive as their premium is higher and therefore are little unattractive. Also, the sum assured seems to be inadequate to cover medical costs that could prove to be more expensive. Though the waiting period in these policies is smaller but it is still long for senior citizens as they are prone to diseases. With the estimates of elderly population expected to increase to 12% of the total population by 2025, 10% of which would be bedridden, requiring utmost care, the dependency on medicine is increasing day by day.