It can be a tempting idea to keep some medications on hand “just in case”. However, this tempting idea comes with some risks. First, drugs can be misused. Studies show that many people who misuse prescription drugs get them from family and friends.
There is also a risk that someone may accidentally take the wrong medicine. Your toddler may be intrigued by the medicine cabinet, or you can take another similar medicine one night while you lie down in the dark before going to bed.
All these are accidents that can happen as a result of carelessness… But there is also the “written in lowercase” part of the job. Every medicine has an expiration date, and that date may come and go while a medicine you buy to have in your home is sitting in a corner.
Expired medicines can still work, but there are some reasons why these medicines have expiration dates: After this date, their efficacy and safety cannot be guaranteed. What’s more, some drugs break down over time. Therefore, they can do more harm than good to you.
But what should we do with expired drugs?
It is best not to use and dispose of an expired medicine. Some medicines have indications that they are disposable, and it is clear how they will be disposed of in your home. However, in general, it is not recommended to dispose of medicines because of the effects they may have on the environment and living things.
In some countries, national campaigns are organized to collect expired drugs or you can even return these drugs to police stations. In our country, the preferred disposal option for expired drugs is to deliver these drugs to a health institution near you. Such medicines should be delivered to the nearest health institutions and properly disposed of together with other medical wastes
If you have an expired medicine or medicines, we recommend that you return these medicines to the nearest health institution instead of throwing them away. Remember; medicines contain chemical substances and these substances will be harmful to the environment if they are disposed of with household waste…
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