Dispose of old medications properly to reduce risk of accidental overdoses
A new Consumer Reports survey found that 19 percent of people hadn't cleaned out their medicine cabinet in more than three years, turning their bathrooms into dumping grounds for old prescription drugs.
Posted — UpdatedA new Consumer Reports survey found that 19 percent of people hadn't cleaned out their medicine cabinet in more than three years, turning their bathrooms into dumping grounds for old prescription drugs.
"Those leftover pills are far from harmless," said Ginger Skinner of Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. "Taking them incorrectly or accidentally could be deadly or land a child in the ER."
About 60,000 children end up in hospital emergency rooms every year after taking medicine that was within their reach.
Anything from leftover painkillers such as Percocet or Vicodin to sleep aids such as Ambien to Xanax and other anti-anxiety medications can cause problems, Skinner said. Over-the-counter medicines that look and taste like candy also pose a danger, she said.
People who decide to just throw out old or unused drugs are advised to remove any personal information from the bottle first and mix the drugs with something unappealing, such as coffee grounds or kitty litter, before sealing them in a plastic bag and tossing it in the garbage.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 All Consumer Reports material Copyright 2017 Consumer Reports, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Consumer Reports is a not-for-profit organization which accepts no advertising. It has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site. For more information visit consumer.org (http://consumer.org/)