Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet

If you have outdated medicines hiding in your medicine cabinet, you are playing with danger.

Time takes its toll on medication by changing its chemical makeup and affecting its potency. Liquid medications can partially evaporate making it more potent. Outdated ear and eye drops may no longer be sterile and may cause irritation or infection. For medications that are taken at the onset of a condition, such as asthma or allergic reactions, it is crucial that the medication be up-to-date and potent.

Heat and humidity can affect the potency of medicines. They need to be stored in a cool, dark, dry place. The bathroom, where many of us keep them, does not usually meet these criteria. A better place would be a dresser drawer or closet shelf.

Here are some medicine storage and safety tips:

•  Check expiration dates on medicines before you use them.

•  Clean out your medicine cabinet at least once a year.

•  Discard the cotton inside the bottle as it can draw in moisture.

•  Keep your medication in its original bottle and don't put more than one medication in the same bottle.

•  No matter what the expiration date, if the medicine looks or smells different than when you first took it, take it to your pharmacist for him or her to check it out or throw it away.

•  Many medicine mistakes happen because the family medicine cabinet is overcrowded with medications for several family members. So clean it out regularly, even more than once a year, if necessary. Or choose a different location for each family member.

•  Get rid of expired medications so that pets and children aren't exposed to them. Pills and liquids can be flushed down the drain or toilet. Patches also should be flushed down the toilet because the unused or used patch contains enough medication to harm pets and children.

Back to Allergy Contents.

Back to Home Page.