Did you know that stacking up unused medicines at home can be very dangerous especially if there are kids in the household? Yes, a common cause why there is an increase in prescription drugs addiction or accidental overdose among children is the presence of such medications that are left unconsumed and readily available at home.
The best way to get rid of these medicines is by disposing them in the proper way. The Food and Drugs Administration has come up with guidelines for the safe disposal of drugs. Together with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), here are some of the updated guidelines that consumers must know:
a. Be aware of your community’s drug take back programs that will give you the opportunity to bring your unused medicines at a specific drop-offs which will be collected by the government’s agencies responsible for them. You can also call the Drug Enforcement Administration to know about their schedules of National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in the whole United States.
b. Before flushing down medicines in your toilet, make sure that you read instructions on their labels and patient information that come with these medications. If there is nothing that says you can flush them down, then do not attempt to do so.
c. If both instructions and drug take back schedules are not available, you can throw these unused medicines provided you take them out from their original boxes, mix foul and unwanted substances in them like kitty litter to make them unappealing to kids, and seal them properly to prevent leaking into garbage cans.
d. Never give medications to your friends or neighbors. Each individual is prescribed with specific medications by doctors based on their medical history and symptoms manifested. What could work for you may be dangerous to others.
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