How to dispose of old medications and why your medicine cabinet isn’t the best place to keep drugs

When it comes to properly stocking your medicines, you’d do well to heed the old boy scout motto: Be prepared. That way, if your son or daughter spikes a fever in the middle of the night or you develop a blistering headache mid afternoon or a guest suddenly has an upset stomach, you’ll have the right remedy on hand to get the relief you need.

Clean up once a year
Make it a habit to go through your medicines at least once every year to remove old products— do it during the week of your birthday or when you check the batteries in your smoke alarm to help you remember. Most nonprescription drugs have an expiry date stamped on them. If you aren’t certain if a product is still effective, check with your pharmacist.


Store them safely
While most homes have a medicine cabinet in the bathroom, this actually isn’t usually the best place to store prescription, nonprescription and herbal products because heat and humidity can affect their potency and safety. A locked dresser drawer or cabinet or the upper shelf of a linen closet is a better place to store medication since it will be kept away from direct light, heat and humidity and out of the reach of children and pets.
While it’s good to have a range of products, too often medicine cabinets are stocked so full you have to duck when you open the door. Take a good look at yours: are there old bottles with one or two pills or a little liquid remaining? Are there leftover medicines
hanging around from that prescription you never finished taking but hung onto “just in case?” How about that cough medicine you bought several years ago—is it still lurking on a shelf somewhere? Now’s as good a time as any to get rid of your outdated drugs— but it is important to do it safely. (Never decide on your own to stop taking a prescription medicine without first discussing it with your doctor. Just because you feel better doesn’t mean you are better).

But if you’ve been switched to a new prescription or your doctor has told you to stop taking an old prescription, what should you do with the pills or liquid that’s leftover? And what’s the best way to dispense of nonprescription medications past their expiry dates?

Don’t flush old medicines down the toilet or sink or dump them in the trash. These products can potentially contaminate the water supply and soil and harm people if they end up in drinking water. Instead, check if your pharmacy has a medicine disposal program. You can also check with your local municipality to determine if it incinerates drugs at its waste disposal depot.

Here are a few essential medicinal items every home should keep on hand, according to the Ottawa-based Canadian Pharmacists Association:
•    A medicine spoon or oral liquid syringe (don’t use household spoons because they don’t give accurate doses)
•    A thermometer
•    Pain and fever relievers: acetaminophen (Tylenol) Ibuprofen (Advil) and/or ASA (Aspirin)
•    An antiseptic for cleaning cuts and scrapes
•    Antibiotic ointment to prevent infection of  minor burns, scrapes and cuts
•    Anti-diarrhea medication
•    Rash and itch medication
•    Cotton balls and adhesive bandages
•    Tweezers and small nail clippers