National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is Saturday, April 24th. That means it’s time to do a little spring cleaning by checking expiration dates on all your medications and then clean and organize that medicine cabinet!
According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives in 2019. The survey also showed that a majority of misused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. https://takebackday.dea.gov/
Don’t know where to start? Here are some steps to guide you to a safe and healthy medicine cabinet.
Step 1: Monitor
How aware are you of the prescription medications currently in your home? Would you know if some of your pills were missing? From this day forward, make sure you can honestly answer yes. Pay attention to what medication you have and how much. If that means counting pills, then count them. Being aware is the first step.
Step 2: Secure
Protect your medications as you would anything valuable in your home. Hide it in a place only you know about. If possible, keep all medicine, both prescription and over-the-counter, in a safe place, such as a locked cabinet.
Step 3: Dispose
If you no longer use a medication, proper disposal is key. There is never a need to hold onto expired or unused medicine, especially prescription drugs. Fremont County has several locations with drop boxes always available for safe drug disposal. Please remember to use hand sanitizer and or sanitizing wipes before and after using the drop boxes.
This is also a good time to talk to your children about the dangers of prescription drugs and let them in on the process. Cleaning the medicine cabinet together is a great conversation starter! Discuss each medication and the dangers of taking something that isn’t prescribed to you.
Call Public Health at (307) 856-6979 or Fremont County Prevention at 307-851-1667 for more information on disposing of unused medication.
Gain control over your medicine cabinet!
For a more complete, in-depth list of medication safety, click here. For more information on Fremont County Prevention and what they do, click here.