Cleaning Out Your Medicine Cabinet

When was the last time you cleaned out your medicine cabinet? Using expired medication can be less effective and in medical emergencies, may be risky. Expired medications also increase the risk of bacterial growth according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Knowing What Medications You Have

You should clean out your medicine cabinet at least every six months. It can seem daunting, especially if you do not know what should stay or be discarded.

When cleaning out your cabinet, ask yourself three questions to determine if you should keep a medication or discard it:

1. Is the medicine past its expiration?
   All medications have their own expiration date—throw away any medication that is expired or is close to expiration. Expired medications may have reduced potency after expiration.  The potency cannot be guaranteed beyond the expiration date.
2. Is the medicine still of good quality?
   Medications that are clumped together, melted or have a change in color or odor, should be discarded. These changes can affect the potency of the medication, and if taken could cause harmful effects or lack of desired effect (for example heart or blood pressure medication).
3. Do you still need this medication?
   Do you still have antibiotics or a medicine prescribed to you from the last time you were sick? If you have any medications that you no longer need, the medicine may already be expired or no longer have the potency it once had.

Restocking

Now that you have removed the medicine you no longer need, it is time to check if you have any medicine that may need refilling or restocking. When it comes to refills, reaching out to your primary care physician is the best way to start. When you meet with your physician, they can determine if you still need the same medication, if your dosage needs to change or if you have started taking any other medication that may impact the effectiveness of the original medication.

When it comes to over-the-counter medicine, it’s a good rule of thumb to have a years’ worth of medicine. Below are some recommendations of medicines you should have on hand:

• Over-the-counter pain relievers
• Ibuprofen
• Acetaminophen (in limited supply)
• Oral antihistamine
• Low potency topical steroid such as Cortaid®
• Antidiarrheals like Milk of Magnesia or Pepto-Bismol®

It’s important to remember that purchasing excess quantities of unused medications can contribute to medical waste. Estimate how many capsules or bottles you expect to use in a year and avoid accumulating excess quantities.

Proper Storage

While it’s common to have a medicine cabinet in the bathroom, it’s not recommended for storing medications. A bathroom can get hot and humid, which may cause medications to lose their potency. A kitchen is the next best spot, but only if it’s far away enough from the stove or oven where the medications won’t be exposed to elevated levels of heat. In general medicine cabinets should be in an accessible place, that remains at room temperature and dark. Depending on some medications, some may need to be refrigerated. A few examples include:

• Insulin injections
• Eye drops
• Probiotics

Pillboxes are a popular way to store medication if people need an easier way to organize their daily intake of medicine or simply save space while traveling. Be cautious when using pill containers and avoid leaving the boxes in a hot or moist place. This can cause the medications to melt together so they are no longer usable.

In addition to finding a proper storage location, it’s important to have the medicine cabinet at least five to six feet from the ground. Placing a medicine cabinet at this height can keep children, cognitively impaired people and pets safe from consuming a dangerous medication that could harm them. In addition to having the cabinet in a high place, installing a child-lock or a key can also be a bonus to keep family members safe.

How to Dispose of Medication

The most common place to get rid of expired food is typically the trash can or garbage disposal, but this is not the case for medications. All medications have instructions on how to properly dispose of the medication. Some disposal options may even include flushing them down the toilet, but that is not the best solution. Flushing certain medications down the toilet can contribute to contamination of water systems, this may potentially affect human health through drinking water exposure. This also poses risk to fish and other species of aquatic ecosystems. In many cases, it is recommended to safely dispose of medications by taking them to Take Back Programs. A Take Back Program, sometimes led by law enforcement agencies, designates certain dates where you can bring unwanted or expired medication for disposal. Simply pack the unwanted medication into a bag that can be sealed and bring to a Take Back Program in your area. Your local pharmacy may also allow you to drop off unwanted medications.

Don’t take the risk of falling ill or not having the proper medication on hand when you need it the most. If you still have questions about your prescription medications and how to best store them, contact your primary care physician or your local pharmacy for more information.

To schedule a comprehensive preventive health exam at Cooper Clinic, visit cooper-clinic.com or call 866.906.2667.

Article written by Kimulique H. Allen, MD, Cooper Clinic Preventive Medicine Physician.