How to safely store medicine and what to do with expired ones

While most medications need to be stored in a cool, dark, and dry place, some require refrigeration or specific temperatures. Storing your medicines properly can help to ensure they work as they should as well as prevent poisoning accidents.

Below are some tips on how to store your medicine at home:

Know that heat, air, light, and moisture may damage your medicine

Do not store your medicine in the bathroom cabinet because of humidity, moisture and heat, this can make your medicine go bad and loose potency.

Store your medicines in a cool, dry place like store it in your closet drawer or kitchen cabinet away from the stove, sink, and any hot appliances. You can also store medicine in a storage box, on a shelf, or in a closet.

Always keep medicine in its original container

Store your medicine in the original container. Do not take them out of the container. If you have multiple people living in your household, store each person’s medications separately, or color code the medications to avoid confusion and ensure you keep them away from children’s reach.

Store medications high up and out of sight, even if you don’t have children of your own. If guests bring over children, they might find the medications if they’re easily accessible.  

Get rid of the old medicine

Toss anything that is expired and has gone bad, experts advise on checking your medicine every six months to make sure that they have not gone bad but also check for changing colour, or dour or consistency. 

Do not take expired medicine because it is not safe or could be less effective. 

How to discard expired medicine

Do not keep old or unused medicine around. It goes bad and you should not use it.

To throw away medicine in the trash, first mix your medicine with something that ruins it, such as coffee grounds or dirt. Put the entire mixture in a plastic bag then throw them away in the dustbin after wrapping them in a plastic bag or flash it down the toilet. Remember to scratch your name and information off of the package for privacy purposes.

Remember not to tamper with the silica gel inside your medicine bottle.