What do you do with unused medication?

When it comes to medication, most of us tend to have a stash of pills lying around. These may be leftover from past prescriptions or medications that were no longer effective for our health condition. While the temptation might be to hold on to those pills ‘just in case,’ doing so can have some severe consequences.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stored medicine can become hazardous over time – especially if not kept under proper conditions. The FDA also reported that an estimated 10% of prescription drugs bought by consumers sink their roots into being unused, neglected or forgotten resulting in wastage.

So what should you do with unused medication? Worry sick no more! Here are some handy-dandy tips and tricks:

Donate them!

If you’ve got enough credit already in heaven’s data records, donate your unused but unexpired prescription medicines rather than hoarding them like a dragon hoards gold coins! Some organizations such as healthcare clinics, nursing homes or other charities accept these kind donations.

This is often where people start thinking “Well yeah sure but how?” Thanks for setting me up for this answer because guess what folks- there’s an easy-peasy way!

Where can I make my donation?

For starters, you could check out the Healthwell Foundation – which has collection centers spread throughout America that take donated meds’ which are then distributed among medical facilities depending on need-based requirements. Similarly non-profit organizations exist all over globally( just FYI) .One organization accepting donations national wide include Medicationsmattersireland.ie

It varies between states and countries when it comes down finding drop off points so my tip would be: hit Google – put those smarty pants sensors online & see what first hits come upon typing “unused medication donation.”

Now let’s move onto another option;

Proper transferal

Even though donating it is completely good hearted and an ideal solution, the fact remains that not every state has convenient drop-off programs at hand. Thus another way of killing two birds with one stone is by transferring your medications to other family members or friends who might require them.

However, and a big fat HOWEVER here:

Make sure they need it first!

It’s crucial to ensure whether their health condition matches that of the medication since taking prescription drugs without appropriate recommendations from a doctor can lead to grave consequences like abnormal blood pressure etc.

The Food and Drug Administration adds some tips on how you can safely transfer those medicines from one location (a.k.a yourself)to someone else’s shelter (homes);

• Ensure labelling is correct( updating descriptions where needed).
• Should discard/destroy any information sheets previously included.
• Remove pills from its original packaging for better visibility however do so in a recognizable manner ie. pill organizer/cabinet.

In terms of over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin we should check if these even have expiry dates before making offers! Most OTC meds aren’t hazardous but unknowingly offering ones past their best before date isn’t doing anyone any favors either.

Dropping in-medical facilities

Much like hospitals’ confiscate phones upon admission; after getting hospitalized individuals are not allowed to consume self brought-in medications typically . Do take note this includes vitamins etc which patients presumably bought themselves instead of purchased through pharmacy scripts . Hence there’s no point holding onto them during hospital visits or trips.

Wow – does your imagination light up whenever you heard “drop off” too? Checklists hitting pages left-right-center?
Here are some important points about what one needs to know / utilize when dropping off unused medicine:

1. Find the right facility

When looking for somewhere to donate or drop-off spare medication do make sure its legitimate sources accepting such items safe boxes clearly labeled for med donations provide information stateside:

• The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sponsors one kind of prescription drug take-back event’s and also collects medication registration details every April.

If going to a medical facility, the likeliest places in such an event would include pharmacies/hospitals/nursing houses; especially since these tend
to provide on-site drop boxes within Maryland/Washington D.C area.

Medication mail-back programs

After checking off the “Oh look at moi! Saving lives and conserving environment!” goals, this next way involves laziness but hey- can save us some queuing time unlike other methods. Yup that’s right folks: we’re talking about medication mail-back programs! Which go hand in hand for patients who are limited mobility-wise or who cannot travel over long distances easily.

These federal government sanctioned[]programs provide prepaid packaging into which you might store all unused drugs for delivery back directly to secure listed local or national partner incinerators far away from water tables or homes.They come in handy premade packing materials with instructions included & depending on whom the program is sponsored under may either be:

• A public-private entity like Stericycle Inc..
• Environmental improvement oil companies such as Chevron.

Or even just hospitals themselves providing such services,[ex] further facilitating this alternative method when deemed necessary.

Trash – Last resort

When none of alternatives mentioned previously isn’t feasible so first thing we need to do is put those mighty unused meds firmly inside a container – preferably leak-proof if stored close households — before disposing them properly by noting landfill versus taking guidance provided onto our conscience cells.

The wrong disposal technique could actually jeopardize people:safety which includes prescriptions being consumed by animals/fish/birds etc leading to their weakened state instead. Further down below there symbolized guidelines!

How should I dispose haphazard pills?

1. First things first: definitely separate liquids from solids/ dry/tablet or capsule medication from one another.
2. Consider adding used up coffee grounds and pet litter before you shut it closed[] (p.s: double check if its brand clean eggshells too!)
3. Pick out permanent markers than scribble all over old labels for discretion purpose
4. When everything’s collected, hit record and destroy things full throttle to reduce the chance of any interaction whatsoever!

Remember folks; now that we know what should be practiced with excessed pills why sit on top until they expire? Join hands in collectively ensuring a better environment and healthier future alongside state-of-the-art health facilities!