Longer days and warmer temps mean summer is almost here, which means it’s a great time for cleaning, including your medicine cabinet.
Proper storage and maintenance of medications, both over the counter and prescription, are important to retain the integrity and potency of the products, so when you need them, they work at maximum strength for you and your family.
“Assess what you have, check the expiration dates and see what needs to be renewed or safely removed, “said Jennifer Campbell, a clinical pharmacist at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center’s outpatient pharmacy. “It’s important to keep medications together in one main location and do a clean out every six months to a year.”
Tips for proper medication storage in your home
- Secure in a locked cabinet. “You want to make sure you keep all your loved ones safe from accidentally ingesting medication they shouldn’t have access to,” said Campbell.
- Store in a cool, dry location. While it might be convenient, storing medicine in the bathroom is probably not the most ideal spot with the heat and humidity from the shower, nor in the kitchen if it’s near a stove or sink.
- Keep all medication away from children and other adults. “Protect your medication from others if you have anyone else come into your home,” said Campbell.
- Consider using a pill box for daily or weekly use.
- Make sure your pets can’t reach the medication. “Even a prescription bottle with a child-proof cap can be chewed open by dogs,” said Campbell.
Additionally, it’s never a good idea to store medicine in your car. The vehicle could get broken into and the medication stolen, and extreme heat and cold can reduce a medicine’s effectiveness.
Do expiration dates matter on medications?
Expiration dates used by manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies can seem restrictive and unnecessary, but are there for a reason.
According to Campbell, medicine, like food or other organic material, degrades over time and with it, its efficacy and efficiency.
“Expiration dates guarantee the potency and safety of the product,” said Campbell. “The purity, safety and effectiveness of the medication are ensured when stored properly.”
If a medication isn’t expired, but you are worried about its appearance, talk to your provider or pharmacist, said Campbell. The same applies if you can’t read the label.
“Look through your medication and make sure the packaging is not open or tampered with,” she said, “and that the pills in the bottle are not moist or stuck together. If there’s any question around the safety of a medication, don’t take it without consulting your pharmacist or provider.”
If you have a prescription for a more serious health concern or chronic condition, Campbell encourages checking expiration dates more frequently and staying on top of refills or renewals.
“It’s better to request a refill a few days before you run out instead of missing days of an important prescription,” she said.
How do I safely dispose of my expired medicine?
It’s important to dispose of expired medications properly as doing so ensures the safety of people, pets and the environment.
“A lot of our customers are very conscientious about not wanting medication in our water supply or our landfill and ask us about safe ways to dispose of them,” said Campbell.
A green medication drop-box is located at the entrance to the emergency department at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center. It is available 24/7/365 and accepts a number of expired or unwanted items including over-the-counter and prescription medications in pill and liquid form, prescription patches, medicated ointments and vitamins. Sharps, marijuana, illicit narcotics and chemotherapy medications are not accepted.
Other select UCHealth pharmacy locations offer on-site disposal, including:
- UCHealth Pharmacy – Harmony Campus
- UCHealth Pharmacy – Greeley Hospital
- UCHealth Pharmacy – Anschutz Outpatient Pavilion
Another possible disposal method is to remove the medication from its packaging and seal it in a container with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. It is not recommended to flush medication down the drain or toilet as it can enter and contaminate water systems.
Mary Gay Broderick writes for UCHealth. She can be reached at [email protected].