Three Ways to Get Rid of Unwanted Drugs Properly
Some medicines can be taken after their expiration date, or even continue to take after the prescription expires. However, leftover medications can also pose a risk of misuse or accidental overdose, so it’s a good idea to know how to properly dispose of them if needed.
If you want to dispose of your medication, Ginger Skinner at Consumer Reports recommends a few simple disposal methods:
- Rubbish: Take the medicine out of the original container, mix it with a substance that hides it well (such as cat litter, coffee grounds, or sawdust), and place it all in an airtight plastic bag. Then throw it away.
- Pharmacy: You can return medicines back to the pharmacy at any time of the year without an appointment. Some even allow you to post it.
- Toilet: If you don’t trust the trash and can’t get to the pharmacy, the FDA recommends flushing it down the toilet . However, this should not be your first option, and the FDA has a list of medications that are best for this type of disposal.
As we mentioned earlier , you can take medications many years after their expiration date, but you may not want to because they may lose their effectiveness. Even if the medicine has not expired, you can still dispose of it for safety reasons (for example, if you have children). Whatever the reason, it’s important to dispose of it properly. You can get additional disposal instructions and advice on how to dispose of inhalers and other specialty medications at the link below.
Simple Steps to Get Rid of Expired Medicines | Consumer reports