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Keep current with storage, disposal of medicines There's probably not a monster hiding in your closet or under your bed, but have you checked inside your medicine cabinet lately? With the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending the removal of ipecac syrup from households, now is a good time for parents to make sure their strategies for storing and disposing of medicines are safe. Many people store their medications in the bathroom, which is about the worst place to keep them. Medicine stored in heat, light, or moisture will degrade faster and possibly lose effectiveness before the expiration date. Keep medicine in a cool, dark and dry place, out of a child's reach. It also is best to keep your medications in their original containers to minimize light exposure and to keep track of their identities and expiration dates. Don't keep medicine past the expiration date because it's likely to have lost its beneficial effects - and in some cases, the medicine can become toxic. The proper disposal of unwanted or expired medicine depends on the medicine and where you live. Ask your local pharmacy, trash collector and/or Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) to see if they have any recommendations or services to help dispose of medications. If you decide to put medicine in the trash, make sure it is sealed and that children or animals won't be able to get into it. If you flush medicine down the toilet, make sure the toilet is connected to a sanitary sewer system (as opposed to a backyard septic tank). Never dispose of chemotherapy drugs yourself - they are highly toxic and should be returned to the hospital or pharmacy where they came from. Some people caution against flushing medicine in the toilet because sewage treatment plants aren't designed to break down the chemicals in certain medicines, which could affect the environment. However, a 1998 study in Science News says that 50% to 90% of properly administered medicine gets excreted in urine or stool anyway. In the case of ipecac, its principal active ingredient is a plant alkaloid, so it will degrade relatively quickly when flushed. For your local HHW site's contact information, visit www.earth911.org or call (800) CLEANUP (800-253-2687). -Greg McConnell |