Facts About Safe Pharmaceutical Disposal

السبت، 23 يناير 2016

By Kathleen Cox


Many people have several prescription medications lying without use in their cabinets. The medications are either expired or no longer needed. Such drugs need to be disposed properly to avoid potential misuse or abuse. There are several methods for pharmaceutical disposal that one can opt for. Not all methods are suitable for all medications and one should be careful. Below are general tips and methods on safe disposal.

Leaving unused or expired medications in the home exposes them to potential misuse or abuse. Most medications do not produce any adverse effects if taken by individuals they were not initially prescribed for. However, that is not always true because there is a small group of medicines that can have very adverse effects. Besides that, children and elderly people in a household are more likely to consume the medications accidentally or intentionally, something that can cause serious effects or death in extreme situations.

Like stated above, not all methods are suitable for all kinds of medication. Instructions on how to get rid of medication that one does not need anymore can be found on the labels. The instructions must be followed carefully if mistakes are to be avoided. Most medications also come with patient information leaflets, which may contain disposal instructions.

Pharmaceuticals are commonly disposed through household trash. From the trash most of the drugs end up in landfills. Not every home is safe with this option. The option can be dangerous for homes that have little children and mentally unstable adults. This is because they can take the drugs from the trash and consume them without the homeowner knowing. That can be a big problem.

Some less harmful medications are also safe to be disposed by flashing down the sink. This could be any sink in the house, but the bathroom sink is more preferable. When flashing, one must ensure that the tablets, powder, capsules, or other forms in which the medication is in completely goes down the sink. There are instructions as to whether one can break large tablets or not. The instructions must be adhered to strictly.

Take back program is another useful method. Take back programs encourage people to take all medications they no longer need to some central location. Such locations may be law enforcement agencies, hospital departments, or some other official place. This service is not available in all cities. One should phone relevant authorities and ask if there is such as program in their locality.

There are also several registered medicine collectors in various cities. These collectors collect unused and expired medications from the public. One must ensure that the collector is registered by the relevant authorities. Examples of such sites include law enforcement locations, clinic pharmacies, hospitals, and retail centers. Some of these collectors offer collection receptacles or mail-back programs.

One should not give out prescription medicines to other people who may need them. When one decides to dispose in the household trash, they must ensure that the label is unreadable or they should remove it completely. This is to protect medical information and also to make the drugs undesirable.




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