Most people have a few bottles of old or unused medicines spread over their houses. But this recipe and freely available medicines are more than just junk. They can accidentally cause serious problems.
Fortunately, it is easy to get rid of medicines that you no longer use or that are past their expiry date. Due to the safe removal of drugs, you can protect yourself, your family, your community and the environment.
When you have to get rid of a medicine
It’s the right time to throw away a medicine when:
- It is beyond the expiry date in the bottle
- It is a freely available (OTC) medicine that you no longer need
- It is a recipe medicine that your doctor says you no longer have to take
- It has been replaced by another medicine that treats the same condition
It can be tempting to keep some unused pills around “in case.” But older medicine that is stored as a backup is often less effective than medicines that have recently been purchased or provided.
When you are ready to throw away your old medicine, you start checking the label, the course or other information with which it came. You can usually find instructions to safely remove it.
Otherwise, depending on where you are and which medicine you throw away, you have three options:
- Take it to a drop-off box or take-back program -Experts agree that the best way to safely remove drugs is to take them to a secure drop-off box or return program. Once collected, these medicines are burned. Your local pharmacy, hospital or clinic can have a safe drop-off box to throw away your old medicines quickly and safely. Otherwise your community may have a drug back program or event where you can take them.
- Throw them away with your normal waste -If you are not close to a drop-off box or a return event is not handy, you can throw away most medicines in the waste. Start by removing the old medicine from its original bottle. Tear the label or scratch your personal information and throw away the bottle. Then mix the medicine with something that is not, such as cat litter, coffee grounds or expired food. Put that in a sealable plastic bag and then throw the bag in your normal waste.
- Check the Flush list of the FDA – Certain drugs, as prescribed painkillers containing opioids, can be very harmful if they are taken by someone to whom they are not prescribed, or by pets or other animals. That is why the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that certain risky medicines are flushed through a sink or toilet only if you cannot get a drop-off box or withdrawal. View the FDA list list To see if the unused medicine you want to throw away, it must be flushed.
If you are not sure what to do with your specific medicine, your pharmacist can also help with advice.
Are there different rules for throwing away liquid and injectable medicines?
No, just follow the same instructions as with a solid medicine: use a drop-off box or bring it to a drug-base event. If that is not an option, throw it away with something unpleasant so that it is not consumed. And don’t rinse it or do not pour it into the sink unless it is on the FDA rack list.
How do I safely throw over needles, spraying and lancets?
Sharps, such as needles and spraying, must be well removed to protect you, your family and sanitary employees. Fortunately it is easy:
- Keep consuming sharply in a sturdy, hard -sided plastic container. When it is full, you will go off on a drop-off site or another safe way that is legal in your state.
- The safest Sharps containers are those that are strayed by the FDA and made specifically for used fritters. You can usually get this in your local drugstore or online. You can also find containers as part of an online or local Sharps-mail-back-service-u only needs to follow the instructions of the service to get a Sharps container, and you can return it for deletion as soon as this is ready.
- If it is difficult for you to get a sharp container, you can make your own of an empty, sturdy and hard -sided plastic laundry or pale bottle with a screw lid (do not use glass, aluminum or steel containers and Don Use containers made with thinner Plastic, such as milk jugs or soft drink bottles). Label the container clearly with “not recycling: household sharp tones.” Once you have filled it halfway with Sharps, it is ready for removal.
- Check safe needle removal To see the laws and recommendations of your state for throwing away used consumption branches. You can also look up all drop-off sites in your area.
Where to throw away old medicines: secure distinguished locations
There are many safe places in Minnesota, West -Wism consiner and throughout the country where you can safely throw away old and unused medicines.
Medicine removal locations in Minnesota
You can find drop-off boxes (also known as medication recycling locations) in hospitals in the entire state, including the following in the Twin Cities area:
You can also contact your province for more information about drop-off boxes and back-back events in your area:
If you live in Greater Minnesota, you can also use the drop-off site tool of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency To find a collection location in your area.
Drug removal locations in West -Wisconsin
Hospitals with secure drop-off boxes include:
You can also find out more about drop-off boxes and back-back events in your area by contacting your province:
Drug removal locations throughout the country
View the information about the FDA about the FDA about taking medicines for more information about recovering and events in your regionAs well as information from the American drug Enforcement Administration on Take Back Day and finding all year round for your drop-off locations in your area.
When old and unused medicines are not properly removed, they can cause all kinds of problems. In your house they can cause accidental poisoning. And outside they can contribute to substance use and environmental damage.
Correct removal of medicine protects you
When medicines are beyond their date of use, they are not as effective as when they first left the pharmacy. Over time, medicines can even become unsafe to use. Safe removal helps to ensure that you use medicines that are at full power to keep you healthy.
The mess of old and unused medicines can also mix with your new medicines, which accidentally increases the chances of taking the wrong one. By regularly inventory and removing the inventory of the medicines you have that you do not need, you can keep yourself safe.
Correct removal of medicine protects your family
Facility of unused and old medicines can also endanger your family, especially if you have young children in your home. According to the FDA, medicine accidents in which children aged 6 and younger are responsible for around 60,000 emergency visits and 450,000 calls to Gifcentra.
Pets can also find containers of unused medicine and tear apart, and eating what is in it can be fatal. By throwing away medicine that is too old to be useful, you can reduce the risk that it will be found and taken by accident.
The correct removal of medicine protects the community
Many medicines can be abused in the wrong hands – especially regulated substances such as prescription painkillers. The use of resources is often continued by finding unused medicines from family and friends, and by finding pills that were not thrown away properly. The correct removal of medicines helps to reduce the opportunities that unnecessary medicines are used dangerously.
The correct removal of medicine protects the environment
When medicines that are not on the FDA rod list are sent by the sink or by the toilet, they have the potential to cause serious damage to the environment.
Most purification installations cannot remove prescription drugs from Stadswater, which means they return to the water supply. There they can pollute the environment and harm the health of fish, frogs and other animals in the wild. And they may also be able to go back to drinking water facilities. In addition, antibiotics that find their way to waterways and groundwater can change how bacteria grow in nature. This could possibly lead to the development of bacterial strains that cannot be treated by antibiotics.
Keep in mind that if you cannot bring medicines such as opioids and narcotic agents to a return site, they must be flushed to protect people against damage. The benefits of rapid and thorough removal of these drugs outweigh the environment. But before flushing medicines such as painkillers and other regulated substances, check twice to check whether they are on the FDA rod list.
