Your Health: A List of Medicine DOs and DON’Ts

At some point in your life, you’ve probably had to take medicine, whether it was over-the-counter like Advil or prescribed to you by a physician.  Medicines can have a huge impact on your health and the way you feel in your daily life, so I’d like to share with you what I think is essential information about taking medication, storing it, and disposing of it properly.  If you’re ever in doubt about anything related to your medicine, seek help from a medical professional.

1) DO take medications as directed.

If you’re picking up a new prescription, a pharmacist should consult you about how to take your medicine and side effects.  If you’re taking a non-prescription medication, follow the recommendations on the bottle unless directed otherwise by someone who knows what he or she is talking about!  Don’t assume that something pill-shaped should necessarily be swallowed – ever heard of suppositories?

2) DON’T be afraid to ask questions.

If you don’t know something about your medication, ask your doctor or a pharmacist. It’s better to get your questions answered than to assume that you know what you’re doing and find out later that you were mistaken.

3) DO follow directions when taking antibiotics.

Basically, antibiotics fight bacterial infections inside your body.  They’re difficult to design because they have to destroy the bad bacteria without killing the good bacteria that your body needs.  Imagine that you’re prescribed a seven-day course of antibiotics, but you feel better on the second day because you’ve killed the majority of the bacteria that were making you ill.  Still, the strong bacteria in your body resistant to the antibiotics remain.  If you attack them with medication for long enough, you can usually destroy them, but if you stop your antibiotics too early, you allow the resistant bacteria to make you even sicker and pass their resistance on to other bacteria!  This creates widespread antibiotic resistance, which makes these infectious bacteria that much harder to kill.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Antibiotic resistance can cause significant danger and suffering for people who have common infections that once were easily treatable with antibiotics. When antibiotics fail to work, the consequences are longer-lasting illnesses, more doctor visits or extended hospital stays, and the need for more expensive and toxic medications. Some resistant infections can even cause death.”

4) DO store your medications as directed.

Keep everything labeled in containers, especially if you have many different medications that you don’t want to mix up. Also, pay attention to storage directions, such as temperature.  Some medications can melt or lose potency if you leave them in the hot sun all day!

5) DO clean out your medicine cabinet.

Check the expiration date on a medication.  Some medicines lose potency or even become toxic after they’ve expired.  If you have something expired, do your research and ask a doctor or pharmacist whether it’s still safe to take.

6) DON’T give old prescription drugs to other people.

In general, if you have leftover prescription medication, you shouldn’t give it to someone else. Your prescription was hopefully given to you by someone who understands your medical issue, how the drug works in your body, and possible interactions with any other medications you may be taking.  Those characteristics may be totally different for someone else, so you shouldn’t give anyone your leftover prescription drugs without seeking medical advice.

7) DO dispose of unused medicines properly.

Dispose of expired or unused medicine by following any directions on the label or talking to a pharmacist.  According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), most medicines can be disposed of in household trash as long as they are in a sealed container.  You should make medicines look unappealing so that children and pets don’t accidentally get into them.

DON’T flush pills down the toilet or pour liquid medicines down the drain unless directed!

While disposal down the drain or toilet is safe for a limited number of medications (the FDA has a list), it’s not safe for others.  When you flush a pill down the toilet or pour a liquid medicine down the drain, it can contaminate the water supply.  Although the trace amount of medicines in the water supply isn’t enough to pose a significant danger to the average person, it’s better not to contribute to the problem!  If you’re not sure how to get rid of your old medicines, take them to your local pharmacy.

Links:

Antibiotic Resistance: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/fast-facts.html)

Safe Disposal of Medicines: Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/consumers/buyingusingmedicinesafely/ensuringsafeuseofmedicine/safedisposalofmedicines/ucm186187.htm)