Organizing Your Medication

It is that time of the year again, 6 months in when you need to check your medications that you have in the home. This task is quick and easy to perform if you are doing it at regular six monthly intervals.

Where to store medication

You must not keep medicines in the bathroom, it is the wrong place to store any sort of medication. You must store medicines in a room with a stable temperature and low humidity and this is not the bathroom. Unless told by the pharmacist to store the medication in the fridge, most medicines needs storing at a constant 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature in a bathroom can rise and decrease depending on the activity and this reduces the effectiveness of the medication.

The best place to keep medication is the kitchen, but not in a cupboard next to an appliance because they can rise the temperature too high. The bedroom is the next obvious place to store your medication. If you have children then the area that you choose for medicines is secure, children can’t gain access to the medication.

If the medication is not stored correctly it can reduce the effectiveness of the medication, this means that it is less effective to cure the illness.

What to do at 6 months check

You must look at the expiry date of all your medication and you must ensure that it is all in date. Throw away any medication that has expired, along with any medication that has remained in the medicine cabinet after the illness that it was to cure.

To get rid of medication that has exceeded the expiry date or a course of tablets you are no longer taking, return these to your local chemist for them to dispose of correctly.

Alternatively, if you are unable to take the tablets to a chemist it is possible, if you are careful to dispose of them at home. One suggestion that I have heard is to place cat litter and a small amount of water in a zip lock bag and into this add the tablets that you need to dispose.

Medication, created by the pharmacist where they add water too, throw away by the 21 day, this medication doesn’t keep and it can cause more problems to the health of a child if given beyond this date unless advised by a doctor.

Organizing your medication every six months is important for the health of your family. It also means you are able to check the stock of medication and can ensure you have the right medication to meet the current needs. Summer is the time I stock up on the allergy medication and winter is the flu season, by organizing every six months, I am able to ensure the right medication is available at the right time of the year.