Medicine Cabinet Makeover: DI.Y. Health Checkup.

Springtime is here.  The trees are starting to grow back their leaves and flowers are blooming.  People gain more energy from the crisp air, there’s more sunlight, and it’s motivating us to start fresh.  One springtime tradition is cleaning out your closet.  We sort our winter clothes and dispose of unwanted ones.  We then bring out the outfits for spring and summer.   This idea should always be applied to our medicine cabinets as well.

Prescription Drugs

The number one reason people have leftover prescription medicine lying around is because we don’t take the entire prescribed medicine.  More often than not, we start to think we feel better before we finish the entire bottle so we leave unused prescription medicine in the closet for the “just in case” scenario.  We think that we can use it the next time we’re sick.

Not finishing prescribed medicine is a no-no

This is actually causing more harm than good. By not finishing the prescribed medicine, you unknowingly create antibiotic resistant bacteria.  People won’t admit to it but everyone is often guilty of self prescribing rather than go see a doctor to get properly diagnosed especially if we think it’s a common health problem. The next time you get the same illness, you’ll probably need to be prescribed a stronger medicine to kill off the newer, stronger bacteria.

Tossing your old medicine is not just about trying to get more space out of your medicine cabinet; it’s also about keeping you and your family safe.  Studies have shown that teens have been found to misuse of their parents’ leftover prescription drugs.

 Saving prescription medicine is dangerous to you and your kids

Don’t give leftover prescription to friends or family because they have a different medical history.  Any medicine prescribed by their doctor might have adverse reaction when combined with to the ones you give them and can lead to deadly results.

Over The Counter Medicine – OTCs

Over the counter drugs (OTCs) might be less powerful than prescription medicine and they have a longer shelf life but there comes a time when OTCs need to be tossed too.  It might be cheaper to get them in bulk but just buy enough because kids and teens nowadays are also using leftovers to get high as well.  OTCs such as cough syrup contain alcohol and that can give them a high which leads to abuse and overdose.

Expired medicine isn’t the only reason for tossing them.  The ones you have in your cabinet might have been recalled or discontinued without you being aware. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have a site that lists prescription and OTCs that has been recalled or discontinued. If the container is missing a label, throw it out.  Same goes if the medicine isn’t in its original packaging.  Playing Russian roulette with your life is not worth saving a few dollars.

Other Items That Needs Tossing

It’s not just prescription and OTCs we have to get rid of.  The list includes products such as:

• Lotions
• Creams
• Liquids
• Lipstick
• Powders
• Mascara
• Cleansers
• Duplicate medicine

Properly Disposing of  Medicine Cabinet Items

There is truth to the belief that some drugs don’t lose their effectiveness immediately by their expiration date if they’re stored safely properly such as in a dark and dry area.  However, it is best to be safe than sorry.  Also medicine has an expiration date for a reason.  Many undoubtedly lose their usefulness after a certain period of time. Prescriptions such as an EpiPen for allergies need to be replaced by their expiration date.  You definitely don’t want to give an expired pen to someone who is having a severe allergic reaction that might lead to their death.

There are several ways to correctly dispose of unused medicine:

• Prescription drug bottle – make sure you remove the label or black out your information to protect your privacy.
• Follow the instructions that come with your medicine regarding disposal if it has specific instructions.
• You can drop them off at your local pharmacy and ask them to dispose of it.
• Nowadays many communities are scheduling special medicine drop off events.
• Some medicine can be disposed of by flushing them down the toilet but the majority shouldn’t be because they can end up seeping into the city water supply.

For instructions on how to dispose of your unused medicine, head to the FDA’s website.