Learning to store your medicine correctly at home is always helpful. For example, you can ensure that your prescriptions last longer, and it can help prevent medical accidents that can threaten your health. Medical Society has collated the necessary information to help you understand the importance of storing your medication safely and tips to prevent your children from accidentally ingesting prescribed medication they aren’t supposed to.
Store Your Medication Properly
If you have medicine at home, consider safe ways to store it. If your medication isn’t stored correctly, . To avoid forgetting where your vital medication is, poison accidents and related incidents, follow these tips to help you store your medicine correctly.
- Understand how light, moisture and heat can affect your medicine.
- You should store your medication in a cool, dry place, such as a cabinet far away from the sink and heat.
- Remove any medication that’s stored in your bathroom.
- Keep your medicine in its original container.
- Remove the cotton ball from your container as it retains moisture.
- If you’re uncertain about anything, ask your doctor or pharmacist how to store your medication.
Most importantly, you need to throw away any old medication. Always check the expiration date and ensure you get rid of the expired medicines safely. For instance, you shouldn’t flush it down the toilet but use a sealable plastic bag instead.
Organise Your Medicine Cabinet
If you haven’t opened your medicine cabinet lately, a regular clean-up is recommended. You may find there are meds in there that have either expired or you no longer need. Use these tips to help you organise your medicine cabinet efficiently.
Declutter
First things first, you should take everything out of the cabinet to assess what belongs there and what doesn’t. If you have medication in various spaces in your house, you should gather those to store in a single spot. Once you’ve decluttered your space, it’s easy to take note of the following.
- Any expired medicine.
- Containers that are damaged or that are half-opened.
- Any prescribed medication that you no longer use.
- Medication that has changed appearance, smell and taste from the last time your doctor prescribed it.
- Medicine that has faded labels that you can no longer read.
Disposing of Medication
Now that you’ve sorted everything and know what needs to stay, you need to know how to throw out your used and expired medication safely. Sometimes, the container will have instructions on how to dispose of it. However, if it doesn’t, the following is how to dispose of medication correctly.
Tablets and capsules: Try to dissolve your tablets and capsules in water. You can pour the mixture into a disposable and sealable bag with your house waste.
Prescription medication: Ensure that you remove your details from the container.
Liquid medication: If you have a lot of expired liquid medicines, try to pour them into a paper towel or newspaper before you throw them out with your home waste.
Categorise Your Medication
Always ensure that you consider the needs of every family member when storing your medication. It would be best if you thought of a system that works best for everyone. For example, you can categorise it according to each person’s needs or the type of medication based on its intended use.
Safety Medicine Storage Tips for Kids
As much as your medication is helpful, it can be dangerous if it gets into the wrong hands. The first rule is to store your medicine as far away from your children as possible.
Here are some medicine storage safety tips to follow if you have kids at home.
- To be safe, store everything out of sight and reach your children. For example, please don’t leave anything in drawers or cabinets they can access.
- If you must use a medicine organiser to manage your doses, store them in a safe place. An ideal thing to do is to keep it in its original packaging especially if it’s child-proof.
- Practice medicine safety tips with your kids. Ensure they know the dangers of consuming medication even if prescribed for them.
- Consider using safe reminders such as an alarm to help you remember when to take your medication so that you don’t leave it lying around your home in places where your kids can reach it.
- Keep emergency numbers nearby if your child accidentally takes medication they shouldn’t.
In summary, storing medication the right way is crucial. Ensure your medicine cabinet is organised and that everything is out of reach of your children. If you have concerns about your medication, talk to a Medical Society healthcare professional to follow practical at-home instructions.
