Mysteries of the medicine cabinet - When and how to properly dispose of old medications

Allergies Medication

Medicine Cabinets usually between Packrat in most of us. As soon as we walked through the difficulties and costs for a trip to the doctor or pharmacy, it is difficult for us to part with something still in the bottle, if we feel better.

Allergies Medication

There is something wrong with the leaders of these three hydrocodone pills from the left channel than last year? How about cough syrup prescribed by your daughter is a pediatrician in the winter? Even if you do not need it, should be disposed of asright? Dealing with the way it seems so difficult, we prefer to simply close the door and forget.

Allergies Medication

Location, location, location

Allergies Medication

Real Estate is not the only activity in which the location is important. If you use prescription drugs or without a prescription, it is important for memory. According to Heidi Kallivayalil, Pharm.D., Outpatient hospital and physician, one of the worst places to store drugs and medicine cabinet. Steam and moisturesinks and showers produce moisture that can infiltrate and cause degradation of the drug.

Unless specific instructions are provided for the storage of medicines should be stored in a cool, dry place. Consider the use of the laundry or kitchen cabinet, located off the stove and sink. You should also avoid the medication in the refrigerator, when the instructions specifically say Sun The cooled air is too humid for most drugs. If refrigeration is required, from the bottle in an opaquePlastic containers on a high shelf can keep out of sight.

A cabinet or box with a lock on it is a good idea for homes with small children or teenagers. Painkillers, according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, 64 percent of children aged between 12 and 17 were abused said that they got from friends or relatives, usually without their knowledge to have. Even on the bench and non-narcotic drugs can be dangerous when mixed or out of the reach of children.Shut the drug does not mean that we do not trust our children, is just another way to ensure their safety.

You should also keep medications in their original packaging with the name and expiration date printed on the label. "Some medicines may be affected by light," said Kallivayalil ", which is why prescription drugs in bottles of amber." Resist the temptation to pills in order to transfer a small bottle or even the same combination of drugs andBottle. If you end up with different drugs in the same container, it can be difficult to identify and too risky to take.

Ann Greene, a pharmacist at the pharmacy in Jacksonville O'Steen, said he is sometimes asked to play detective transferred through the identification of drugs that had a bottle of prescription on a daily or weekly pill reminder case. "Usually, a family member that transmits the pill," says Greene. "When you're dealing with generics, the colorSometimes it is changed. Customers are accustomed to less than a pill pink and then the color changed to orange. Note that they are on the bottle, but if a pill has been transferred to another container, it can cause confusion. I have seen cases in which leads to doubling the dose. The customer actually has the pill in case the memory and the well-known pink pill from the bottle. "

Take it or Toss?

Many of us have small amounts of drugs at the end left for various diseases.If this happens, it's a good idea to get rid of her. Although most expired drugs are not necessarily harmful, they can lose their power. You may be tempted to hang around them to avoid a future trip to the doctor, but there are reasons why you should not do.

Unless the basic drugs needed (which is common painkillers and other drugs needed intermittently) is prescribed, it is important to take each dose. This can lead to complications. For example, smallThe doses of antibiotics can not destroy the infection, and bacteria could eventually develop resistance to antibiotics, in particular, making it difficult to treat in the future. Dose levels are with any medication, it is important to follow the instructions exactly.

Parents sometimes give a drug prescribed for the child to another child. The sharing can be a good thing, most of the time, but in this case it is not advisable. Although childrenthe same disease that does not necessarily have the same or the same drug dose should be administered. drug allergies are common, especially with antibiotics. It is advisable to let your doctor decide which medication is suitable for any disease.

It 'still good?

The duration is the time that the manufacturer has decided to be the drug safer and more effective for this particular need. All medications must carry an expiration dateDate. Most of the prescription bottles have typed the date on the label. Over-the-counter medications sometimes have the date printed on the outer carton. If you remove the tube or bottle from the window to see a date. If you see it, make sure to enter the expiration date on the package with a permanent marker.

Many drugs are limited to one year from the date they were filled, but not just assume. After Kallivayalil, some medications fall more rapidlyothers. Liquid medications often have a shorter life, some just 14 days.

It also provides patches and hydrogen peroxide to come with expiration dates. For example, recommends Vaseline ® to keep their products such as moisturizers and petroleum jelly at room temperature for up to two years.

A Closer Look

Always take care, medicines, before examining it. Even if you use the same recipe every night for the past ten years, it is worthto be vigilant. Take time to check the name and appearance of the drug.

Make sure that everything does not look good. Capsules, tablets or stick to each other, the color might have been modified to show moisture has entered the container and must be eliminated. The same is true for all medications, it is collapsed, it has spots or variations in texture and appearance.

Leave drugs in the car can also cause problems, especially in summerMonths in Florida. "Most of the drugs should be stored at room temperature and is stable up to about 78 degrees," says Greene. Higher temperatures can be harmful: "If the capsules remain in the glove compartment on a hot day, temperatures can rise high enough to melt really." In this case, most pharmacies are willing to drug trafficking damaged, but only in patients at a cost.

Safe disposal

Pouring old medications down the drain or washingtoilets are used, an acceptable way to get rid of. Consultant to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health, two of them. What is the problem? This method of disposal results in contamination of drinking water and the waters of Florida. Most treatment plants are not equipped to remove drugs, which means that eventually make their way into water sources. It is unlikely, as a matter of small traces to avoid damagePeople, but the DEP, Florida, says that research has shown, there may be an effect on aquatic organisms such as fish and frogs.

After spokesman Eulinda Smith, the Florida DEP, there are a number of steps you can protect against risks to humans and animals, if we are able to dispose of medicines:

Pills and capsules

A) Waiting for the names of the medications in their original packaging with orders. This allows you to identify if a person accidentally orAnimals.
B) mark your name and number of prescription before the launch.
C) Place a small amount of liquid such as water or soda bottle to dissolve the medicine.
D) Secure the cover with tape or adhesive tape.
E) put the tape in a coffee or a bottle of opaque plastic, such as empty detergent bottle. Paste the lid on the container outside.
B) Hide the container in the trash ... Do not recycle.

Liquid medicine

To be added)Kitty litter or dirt on the residual liquid. All the liquid is less pleasant to animals or humans, such as cayenne pepper is, it could also be used.
B) Follow the instructions to wrap the lid and placed in an outer container.

If you have other non-pharmacological while cleaning your medicine cabinet, take not only okay to throw them in your regular trash either. Some items such as thermometers and requirements management.Filled with mercury thermometer should be taken to a hazardous waste facility and a digital thermometer with a button battery must be recycled in the same manner as other batteries.

Once you have the medicines and supplies organized home is a review of all that is needed occasionally. Remove the left of prescription drugs when finished with them, and to periodically check the expiration date on over-the-counter medications. Watch out for the storage and disposalProcedures will help keep your family and secure environment.

Mysteries of the medicine cabinet - When and how to properly dispose of old medications

Allergies Medication

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