5 Alarming Factors Why You Should Dispose Of Old Medicine

Every medicine has different compositions that detail its active and inactive ingredients. These compositions explain how drugs effectively treat certain illnesses, ailments, conditions, and more. If these medicines are misused, there is a serious possibility that the health of someone who improperly used them will be put at risk.

There should be medication labels in medicine products to prevent any misunderstanding upon using them. Different manufacturing companies indicate the expiration date when a medication is made. The expiration date label is the time frame a drug may be used before it goes bad.

However, even though it is evident that medicine should be used within a specified period, there are still people who keep expired drugs. This can be due to various reasons, from thinking it’d be a waste throwing it out to being straight up neglectful about it. If you want to know why you should dispose of these old medicines, below is the list that will explain more. Take a read.

 

To Secure Your Health and Safety

Suppose there is an incident where one of your family members accidentally intake these old medicines. You don’t know what will happen to them. That’s why it is essential to know the chemical content of these old prescription pills waste because it can be dangerous to your health.

Also, keep in mind that many old medicines are prone to bacterial growth and other harmful pathogens that can not be treated easily by any antibiotics. This leads to more serious infections, especially if it has a resistance to antibiotics. Therefore, you should dispose of these old medicines.

 

It Might Fall In The Wrong Hands

When someone attempts to commit suicide, it is common to take drugs and overdose on them. Usually, suicidal people will grab everything they can get in those old drugs and consume as much of it as they can to overdose themselves.

If you have consumed more than the prescribed dosage of a medicine, it will harm your body’s functions. The mixture of different substances from these medicines may result in severe health complications and even death.

The effects of these drugs vary depending on the substance and quantity taken, so it is more harmful to your body if it is frequently used. It is one of the many dangers of keeping old drugs – it can be a weapon to end a life. Once it falls into the wrong hands, life can be a consequence.

 

It Can Be Used for Polydrugs

Aside from using old medicine to end a life, people use old medicines to create polydrugs. The utilization of more than one medicine at a time is known as the use of polydrugs. This increases the effects of every particular medicine and makes them more toxic and harmful to the body.

The dangers of polydrugs vary, depending on the types and quantities of drugs combined. Addictive and harmful effects are exacerbated by mixing medications. The biggest threat of mixed drug intoxication is death. Therefore, you should dispose of this to avoid any prospect people will take it and use it for this.

 

It Has a Negative Environmental Effect

When we dispose of old medicine, bear in mind that it could pose a risk to the environment. Negative effects like water resource pollution are the most common. It is one of the reasons why you should properly dispose of old medicines.

It can harm fish and other marine organisms’ habitat if flushed or disposed of in the water. The contaminants may be discharged into streams, reservoirs, and waterways and harm its ecosystem since drainage systems cannot deal with narcotics.

 

Kids Might Play With It

We all know that kids are very intrigued by just about anything they can see and hold. They can quickly grab anything they want and keep it in their mouth. At a very young age, it is understandable because they want to discover, experiment, and learn by playing with anything that attracts them.

For the sake of your children’s security, you should dispose of your old medicines. If ever they find it and accidentally eat it, there’s probably a possibility of poisoning.   Remember that kids have a low tolerance for anything that has a high dosage of medicines.

If this happens, take them immediately to the nearest hospital. But it’s better to prevent this by properly disposing of your old medicine.

 

Takeaway

Expiry dates must indicate the timeframe in which the medical product is considered safe for intake. However, when you already know that these medicines are no longer safe since they are old and already expired, dispose of them immediately. The different factors mentioned above are a few of the consequences if you will not dispose of your old medicines. Therefore, think twice and start disposing of it now.

 

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Written by HealthStatus Crew
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus teams with authors from organizations to share interesting ideas, products and new health information to our readers.

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