Selasa, 12 Januari 2016

Information On Safe Pharmaceutical Disposal

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.

There is the risk of misuse or abuse of unused or expired medications if they are left in the home. No adverse effects result from most prescription medicines if consumed by the wrong people. However, some medications can have very serious effects on the wrong user. Apart from that, accidental or intentional consumption of prescription medications by the elderly and children is also possible. If that happens, the extreme situation could result into death of the individual.

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.

Many registered medicine collectors also exist in many cities. They take drugs that have expired or are unused from people. Usually they are registered by the relevant authorities in that city. Some common examples of collectors are clinic pharmacies, hospitals, law enforcement locations, and retail centers among others. Mail-back programs and/or collection receptacles are also offered by some of the collectors.

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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