Patient advocate: Spring clean your medicine cabinet
Research has found that 80% of households have unused or expired medications on a shelf somewhere, probably in the medicine cabinet. Now that spring is here, you can do your part to reduce that percentage.
There are several reasons for the build-up of unused and expired meds. A doctor may change a dose or switch a patient to a different drug before the first prescription is finished. We often stop taking a medication once our symptoms go away, such as with antibiotics or painkillers.
Unpleasant side effects may cause us to stop taking something. And providers may prescribe more medication than we actually need for a recovery period.
Here are some things to look for when clearing out your medicine cabinet:
Expiration dates
Since 1979, drug manufacturers have been required to stamp an expiration date on their products, the date at which the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of the medication. With the exception of nitroglycerin, insulin and liquid antibiotics, most drugs are OK to use well after their “expiration date”; they may just lose some potency.
So you can save money by not automatically throwing out “expired” aspirin or acetaminophen. You can also make medications last longer by keeping them in a cool, dry place away from pets, kids and adolescents. The bathroom medicine cabinet, despite its name, is about the worst place to keep them because of warmth, humidity and accessibility.
Opioids
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 105,000 people died from drug overdose in 2023, and more than three-quarters of the deaths involved opioids.
These powerful painkillers are potentially addictive and dangerous, even deadly. If your dentist gave you a few Oxycodone or Vicodin tablets to take after a procedure, and if you kept a few “just in case,” get rid of them.
Antibiotics
Keeping antibiotics past their expiration date and disposing them willy-nilly is a recipe for disaster. Old antibiotics don’t perform as well, which may cause a bacterial infection to last longer and become more serious.
Flushing them or putting them down the drain puts them into the environment and can encourage antibiotic resistance or “superbugs,” making infections harder to treat in the future.
Liquids
Liquid medications like cough syrups are especially prone to bacterial growth once they have been opened. The preservatives that keep ingredients sterile degrade over time.
When that happens, bacteria can multiply inside the bottle. Using these products can introduce bacteria into a person’s eyes, ears or digestive system, progressing to an infection.
Old eye drops, for example, pose a major contamination risk. Bacteria can grow in an opened bottle of preservative-free eye drops. Putting them in your eyes, an organ that is connected to the bloodstream, can cause all kinds of havoc, from mild irritations to eye ulcers.
Keep on hand…
The most useful medications are those that help deal with common aches, allergies and illnesses. These include:
• Pain relievers/fever reducers: Acetaminophen (i.e. Tylenol), ibuprofen (i.e. Motrin) or aspirin.
• Antihistamines: Medications such as Benadryl, Claritin, Zyrtec or their generic equivalents.
• Antacids: This can include tablets like Tums or liquids like milk of magnesia.
• Decongestants: Common ones include Sudafed and Neo-Synephrine. Be careful using nasal decongestants, as they can cause rebound congestion.
• Antidiarrheals: Don’t be caught without some Imodium, Pepto-Bismol or their generic cousins.
If you do end up with out-of-date or unneeded prescriptions (including prescriptions that a pet may have had), there are ways to safely dispose of them. Many retail pharmacies, hospitals and police departments offer year-round kiosks. To find a site near you, visit the DEA's Collection Site Locator or use the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy tool.
Unused medications thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused, or illegally sold. If they are flushed, they can contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.
• Teri (Dreher) Frykenberg, R.N., a registered nurse and board-certified patient advocate, is the founder of www.NurseAdvocateEntrepreneur.com, which trains medical professionals to become successful private patient advocates. She is the author of “How to Be a Healthcare Advocate for Yourself & Your Loved Ones” and her new book, “Advocating Well: Strategies for Finding Strength and Understanding in Health Care,” available at Amazon.com. Contact her at Teri@NurseAdvocateEntrepreneur.com to set up a free phone consultation.