Having Trouble Reading Your Medicine Labels?

Most prescription labels fail to meet guidelines, risking dosage errors, Canadian study concludes

Posted: 09 Jul 2014 08:54 AM PDT

"Small print and poor printing on prescription labels handed out by pharmacists may be misread and may lead to errors in taking medication, according to new research. By simply following recommended guidelines for font size, use of bolding, justification, sentence case and spacing, researchers expect pharmacies can improve the legibility of their labels without the need for new technologies or larger labels."

This post from today's  "Science Daily" points out a very real problem that people with low vision face.  The majority of my patients tell me that they need help reading medicine labels.  In addition to the suggested improvements that the pharmacy could make I recommend one other thing.  Ask the pharmacist to put the meds in larger bottles and rotate the label 90 degrees.  That allows you to read an entire line of print without having to rotate the bottle.  Much easier.  This can be done.  I have requested it of pharmacists and they understand. #lowvision