Cleaning Tips

SAFE DISPOSAL OF MEDICATIONS

The rites of spring cleaning often include purging your home of unnecessary or unwanted items. This year, pledge to clean out unused and outdated medications, many of which, if ingested by pets and children, even in tiny doses, can prove fatal.

Don't just toss those prescriptions in the trash, however. Follow approved guidelines issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Read the basics below. Then visit the link that follows for a thorough explanation of this important safety precaution.

Community Drug Take-Back Programs. Probably the safest and ecologically sound option, local drug take-back programs accept unused medications with no questions asked and dispose of them safely. Inquire about local programs available by contacting your city's recycling department or the local sheriff or police.

Curbside Trash Services. The FDA asserts that many medications can be safely disposed of by emptying them into a sealed plastic bag to which has been added an unappealing substance such as cat litter or used coffee grounds, then adding the bag to regular trash for pickup.

Flushing Down the Toilet. Concerns have been raised recently that the common practice of flushing unused medications down the toilet is adding dangerous levels of antibiotics and other medications to the water system. The FDA's current stance on this issue is that while these concerns are taken into consideration, the potency and potential for fatal poisoning in pets and children are so high for a very small percentage of medications that the importance of removing those substances to avoid accidental ingestion outweighs the small amount of medication that enters the water system by flushing them down toilets. The FDA publishes a list of the medications in question (such as morphine, oxycontin and others). Click on the link below to learn more:

FDA Link