Many of us have had major surgeries; those surgeries typically come with a slew of medications. Even without a surgery, medications are constantly being distributed by doctors for a various number of health issues. Although you might use a bulk of the medications prescribed to you, many of us do not go through the entire amount. We either stop experiencing pain, nausea, or whatever the initial issue was, or we simply don’t want to take them anymore. When this happens, your pill bottles, most likely, sit in the medicine cabinet or behind that bathroom mirror. Although this might not seem dangerous at first glance, the statistics rising in relation to the opioid epidemic have something different to say. The dangers can be endless.

CHILD SAFETY

Many of us think that the child-proof packaging for most medications is just that – child proof. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Young children are very clever, and they can easily find ways around the child-proof packaging. This packaging has little to no effect on children above the age of six and poses even more of a danger to those in their teenage years. We all know that as children grow, so does their curiosity. Disposing of old, unused, or unwanted medications is the surest way to keeping our children safe.

“Between 2001 and 2008, more than 450,000 cases of poisoning in children under six years of age were reported to US poison control centres. Of these, 95% involved the ingestion of a prescription medication, which resulted in substantial morbidity and resource use, as well as 66 deaths” (NCBI). The danger is real, and we need to band together to prevent it.

NO TEMPTATION

You may think you are immune to the temptation of the medications that are taking up space in your medicine cabinet, but know that this is a very dangerous thought. No one is favored in this opioid epidemic. By leaving those pain medications in your cabinet, you may be tempted to use them the next time an over-the-counter drug isn’t quite helping, and therefore risking opioid addiction. Although some medications are prescribed to use as-needed over a long period of time, some are recommended to be used for a designated amount of time, for the simple reason of avoiding opioid addiction.

NO HANDOUTS

If you don’t think you know someone who has or is addicted to some type of medication, you may be wrong. Many addicts hide their addiction and their want/desire to get a hold of them. “The most common source of diverted opioids was unused tablets prescribed to someone else at home, typically a parent or sibling” (NCBI). By keeping a stack of old, unwanted, or unused medications in your cabinet or bathroom, this could provide access to someone who is an addict or could become one if faced with the temptation. Limit these chances and get rid of the medications when they are no longer needed.

Our nation is currently facing an epidemic, and it’s important that each person plays their part in avoiding dangers and further addictions. If you want to learn more about medication disposal, visit https://narcx.com or call us at 1.844.RxDISPOSAL.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4119135/

https://www.seminolepreventioncoalition.org/why-proper-drug-disposal/