Recently, in order to further enhance the awareness of safe medication among the elderly, a market supervision office entered a senior university and held a special lecture on safe medication for diabetes for more than 20 elderly students, focusing on the treatment, prevention, and common misunderstandings of diabetes.
During the lecture, scientific treatment and standardized medication were emphasized as the core. Staff systematically explained the treatment principles and goals of diabetes in combination with Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetes in Chinese Elderly. They strongly reminded that oral hypoglycemic drugs must be taken strictly according to the doctor’s instructions, and when injecting insulin, attention should be paid to the storage conditions of the drugs. Considering the decline of liver and kidney functions in the elderly, the staff specifically advised everyone not to arbitrarily increase or decrease the dosage of medications, to regularly monitor various indicators, and to communicate with doctors in a timely manner about their conditions.
Regarding the prevention of diabetes, the lecture emphasized the importance of secondary prevention and moving the prevention barrier forward. In the session on prevention strategies, primary prevention advocated that elderly students maintain a low-sugar and low-fat diet and engage in moderate exercises such as Tai Chi and brisk walking. Secondary prevention focused on the annual fasting blood glucose test, especially regular screening for obese people. In addition, the elderly were specifically reminded to be vigilant against “hidden hunger” and pay attention to the appropriate supplementation of B vitamins and dietary fiber.
Aiming at the cognitive biases of the elderly group towards diabetes, the lecture also listed common misunderstandings among elderly diabetic patients, such as believing that they should give up staple foods when blood sugar is high, thinking that sugar-free foods can be eaten freely, and mistakenly believing that only obese people can get diabetes. Through the explanation of these misunderstandings, it helped the elderly students correctly understand diabetes, so that they can carry out reasonable prevention and scientific treatment.
The elderly participants in the lecture all said that the content of the lecture was very close to their actual needs. They not only learned scientific methods for controlling blood sugar but also enhanced their awareness of safe medication. It is reported that the market supervision office will continue to carry out the “Silver Age Medication Protection” series of actions in the next step, providing a solid guarantee for the medication safety of the elderly group.
