No matter what type of medication you take or use, it’s important that you store them correctly. When you don’t store your medicines correctly, they lose their potency, effectiveness and become difficult to use.
Think About Location
The location of where you store your medicines is of the utmost importance. While you may think a bathroom cabinet is the go-to spot, the heat, humidity and steam can hamper your medicines.
Most medicines have a recommended storage temperature, so it’s important that you keep them in a cool and dry place in accordance with the desired storage temperature. This can include putting your medicines in a cupboard or in a spot out of direct sunlight.
While it may be tempting to take your medicines out of their original bottle and store it in an air-tight container instead, this can be bad for your medicines. The original bottle or packaging was specifically designed for your medicines, so taking your medicines out can alter their effectiveness.
If you want to keep your medicines more organised, then consider grouping them by type or packaging shape. For example, you might keep all cold and flu medicine boxes in one container, while putting bottles of vitamins in a different box.
Read The Label
The label on your medicine should provide instructions on how best to store it. This includes reading up on when your medicine is set to expire so you can plan accordingly. You should check your medicines every six to twelve months and throw out any outdated medicine. This ensures you don’t accidentally take something that’s well and truly expired.
If your medicine comes with a little cotton ball, it’s important that you take it out as soon as you open your bottle of medicine. This cotton ball is usually in the bottle to stop the tablets from rattling around. Keeping this ball in the bottle after opening it can increase moisture absorption, which in turn negatively affects your medicine.
Keeping Others Safe
Storing your medicines in high places can help prevent children, pets and older people from accessing them. This prevents your child, pet or elderly family member from accidentally taking medicines they’re not meant to be using. You can also consider putting your medicines in a locked box or safe for further security.
We touched on checking the expiry dates earlier, but it’s also important to check if your medicines have been damaged in any way. When you take damaged medicines, it can make you feel quite sick, so it’s important to be on the lookout for any medicines that have a change in colour, texture or smell.
If you specifically use pills or tablets from a bottle, then keep an eye out for any pills that are harder or softer than usual. You should also look for any pills that are cracked or chipped.
The Health Collab
Here at The Health Collab, we pride ourselves on providing information to help the community stay safe and healthy, especially when it comes to the consumption of medicine.