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Some Drugs Increase Risk Of Falling

The prescription drugs in the medicine cabinet could be contributing to the risk for falls for people aged 65 and older.

Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older. And those that take four or more medications are at an even greater risk than those who don’t.

Thanks to a study from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, more patients and pharmacists have a list they can use to help lower their risk for falls.

The medications on the list cover a wide range of common prescription antidepressants, seizure medications, painkillers and more. The common denominator among them is that they all work to depress the central nervous system, which can make patients less alert and slower to react.

Researchers warn that patients also need to be wary over-the-counter medications, which can also contribute to falls.

“Some allergy medications, sleep aids and some cold and cough remedies can have the same effects as prescription drugs,” the researchers write. “Always let your doctor know what over-the-counter medications you are taking and be sure to read the labels. Anything that can cause drowsiness can put you at increased risk of falling.”

Prevention Tips

• Know the common side effects of all medications taken.
• Talk with your physician or pharmacist about ways to reduce your chances of falling by using the lowest effective dosage, regularly assessing the need for continued medication, and the need for walking aids while taking medications that affect balance.
• Remove all out-of-date medications and those no longer in use.
• Have a physician or pharmacist conduct a "brown bag" medicine review of all current medications.
• Limit intake of alcohol as it may interact with medications.

The following are the medications that can contribute to falls:

Generic Name (Brand Name)

• Alprazolam (Xanax)
• Amitriptyline (Elavil)
• Amobarbital (Amytal)
• Amoxapine (Asendin)
• Aripiprazole (Abilify)
• Baclofen (Lioresal)
• Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR)
• Buspirone (Buspar)
• Butabarbital
• Carbamazepine (Tegretol, Tegretol XR, Carbatrol)
• Chloral hydrate
• Chlorazepate (Tranxene)
• Chlordiazepoxide (Librium, Limbitrol, Librax)
• Chlorpromazine (Thorazine)
• Citalopram (Celexa)
• Clidinium-chlordiazepoxide (Librax)
• Clomipramine (Anafranil)
• Clonazepam (Klonopin)
• Clozapine (Clozaril)
• Codeine (Tylenol with Codeine)
• Desipramine (Norpramin)
• Diazepam (Valium)
• Digoxin (Lanoxin)
• Disopyramide (Norpace)
• Divalproex sodium (Depakote, Depakote ER)
• Doxepin (Sinequan, Zonalon, Prudoxin)
• Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
• Escitalopram (Lexapro)
• Estazolam (Prosom)
• Olanzapine (Zyprexa, Zyprexa Zydis)
• Oxazepam (Serax)
• Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
• Oxycodone (Percocet)
• Oxymorphone (Numorphan)
• Paraldehyde (Paral)
• Paroxetine (Paxil)
• Pentobarbital (Nembutal)
• Perphenazine (Trilafon)
• Phenelzine (Nardil)
• Phenobarbital
• Phenytoin (Dilantin)
• Pimozide (Orap)
• Pregabalin (Lyrica)
• Primidone (Mysoline)
• Propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvocet)
• Protriptyline (Vivactil)
• Quazepam (Doral)
• Ethosuximide (Zarontin)
• Felbamate (Felbatol)
• Fentanyl (Duragesic)
• Fluoxetine (Prozac)
• Fluphenazine (Permitil, Prolixin)
• Flurazepam (Dalmane)
• Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
• Gabapentin (Neurontin)
• Halazepam (Paxipam)
• Haloperidol (Haldol)
• Hydrocodone (Vicodin)
• Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
• Imipramine (Tofranil)
• Isocarboxazid (Marplan)
• Levetiracetam (Keppra)
• Levorphanol (Levo-Dromoran)
• Lorazepam (Ativan)
• Loxapine (Loxitane, Loxitane C)
• Maprotiline (Ludiomil)
• Mephobarbital
• Meprobamate (Miltown, Equanil)
• Mesoridazine (Serentil)
• Methadone (Dolophine)
• Methsuximide (Celontin)
• Mirtazapine (Remeron)
• Molindone (Moban)
• Morphine (MS Contin)
• Nefazodone (Serzone)
• Quetiapine (Seroquel)
• Risperidone (Risperdal)
• Secobarbital (Seconal)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)
• Temazepam (Restoril)
• Thioridazine (Mellaril)
• Thiothixene (Navane)
• Tiagabine (Gabatril)
• Topiramate (Topamax)
• Tranylcypromine (Parnate)
• Trazodone (Desyrel)
• Triazolam (Halcion)
• Trifluoroperazine (Stelazine)
• Trimipramine (Surmontil)
• Venlafaxine (Effexor, Effexor XR)
• Ziprasidone (Geodon)
• Zolpidem (Ambien)
• Zonisamide (Zonegran)

For more on medical safety issues, see the library of articles by Daytona Beach nursing home injury attorney.




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