If someone is not breathing, call 911. If someone may have taken too much medicine or the wrong one, call Poison Help.

Poison Help, 1-800-222-1222, connects you to your local poison center. Do not wait for signs before calling.
Have the bottle with you when you call. The label has important information.

Source: HRSA Poison Help This page cannot see or answer an emergency.

Bring every pill bottle

For an older person who has fallen, worries about falling, or feels unsteady, and for the family member who helps. Put every medicine in one bag and ask a pharmacist or clinician to look at all of them together, with falls in mind. This page makes the sheet you bring.

What this page is

This explains; the pharmacist or clinician decides. It is general guidance, not medical advice, and not a plan for one person.
Never stop or change a medicine on your own. Ask first. Some medicines need to be stopped slowly, and stopping early can make a condition worse. Source: NIA
What you enter never leaves this phone. What you tick or type stays on this page until you close it. It is not saved anywhere. No account needed, nothing to buy; the page only counts the visit.

1. Fill the bag

The review only works if it sees everything.

Every prescription, from every doctor. Have the doctor or pharmacist review all the medicines taken. Source: CDC STEADI
Over-the-counter medicines too, and vitamins, supplements and herbal remedies. Some of these can cause dizziness, sleepiness, confusion or blurred vision. Source: CDC STEADI Source: CDC STEADI
Even ones taken only now and then. Mention everything. Source: NIA
Why it matters for falls: some medicines, or combinations of medicines, can make a person sleepy or dizzy and can cause a fall. The more medicines a person takes, the more likely a fall. Source: CDC STEADI Source: NIA
Tell the clinician about any fall, even one with no pain. A fall can point to a problem with medicines that can be corrected. Source: NIA

3. Write what is on each bottle (optional)

The name on the label and what it is for, if you know. A written list is worth keeping: show it to every clinician, including physical therapists and dentists. Source: NIA

4. Questions to ask

Tick the ones you want on the sheet.

Could any of these, alone or together, make me sleepy or dizzy, or make a fall more likely? Source: CDC STEADI
Do I still need to take all of these? Source: NIA
Do any two of these contain the same active ingredient? Source: NIA
If one should change, is it safe to stop, or does it need to be stopped slowly? Source: NIA
Is it safe to drive while taking these? Source: NIA
Can you check my blood pressure lying down and then standing? Source: NIA
Should I take vitamin D for bone, muscle and nerve health? Source: CDC STEADI

5. Print or show the sheet

Bring it with the bag. If you cannot print, show this screen at the counter.

Tick a group or a question above, or write a bottle name, and the sheet fills in here.

One pharmacy for every prescription helps the pharmacist spot a medicine that could cause a problem with another. If you use more than one, show the list at each. Source: NIA

Next stops

Make the visit sheetLog falls and near-falls and pick your questions for the doctor. Kept on this device.Helping after a fallShort, sourced steps for the family member who is there.Afraid of fallingWhy fear can make falls more likely, and what helps.Score the risk: fallrisks.comA three-minute fall-risk screener for families.

Sources

CDC STEADI: Fact Sheet, Medications Linked to Falls (the groups in step 2; checked 2026-10-22)
CDC STEADI: What You Can Do to Prevent Falls (checked 2026-10-22)
National Institute on Aging (NIA): Taking Medicines Safely as You Age (checked 2026-10-22)
National Institute on Aging (NIA): Falls and Fractures in Older Adults (checked 2026-10-22)
HRSA Poison Help: What You Can Do (checked 2026-10-22)