Pill boxes
These are little boxes with lids that snap shut. They have compartments so you can separate pills to be taken at different times. Sometimes the compartments are labelled.
Daily boxes hold your medicines for the day. Most have four compartments. Some have up to eight.
Weekly boxes hold enough for the whole week. Smaller ones have one or two compartments for each day. Larger ones have four. Some consist of a box or wallet with seven removable daily pill boxes inside, so that you can take just a day’s medicines out with you.
Most pill boxes have see-through lids, so that you can tell straight away if you have missed a tablet. Make sure you know what to do if you miss a dose.
Which end is which?
You need to be sure that you will take your medicines in the right order. This can be tricky if you get confused. Sometimes the compartments are numbered, or labelled with times of the day; some have braille labelling.
Some daily pill boxes are especially confusing because when you hold them horizontally the morning compartment is on the right (you might expect it on the left).
Alarm systems
You can get an alarm that can be set to go off at several times during the day. Some just beep or vibrate. Others display a message on a small screen. One we tested plays a pre-recorded message through a small speaker.
Some alarms can be set to go off up to eight times a day.
Some daily and weekly pill boxes have built in alarms.
Can you hear the beep?
For an alarm system to work, you need to be able to hear it. This may affect which one you choose (some are louder than others; some have vibrating alarms) and it may affect the way you can use it (you might need to make sure it is in the same room as you).
See the tables on pages 10-15 for what each alarm system does and for pictures of what they look like.