Drug Poisoning: 6 Ways to Safely Handle Risky Meds

When’s the last time you took a look in the back of your medicine cabinet? You could be storing some particularly dangerous medications in a place that’s easily accessible to children or grandchildren.

A new Consumer Reports nationally representative survey of U.S. adults found that only 20 percent of Americans who have potentially dangerous drugs in their house lock them up. If you’re in the majority, you could be putting your kids or grandkids at risk of

Ingesting opioids, stimulants, sedatives, and other dangerous drugs.

About 60,000 kids under the age of 5 are taken to the ER each year after a dose of such dangerous prescription drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Additionally, one-third of the participants in CR survey reported that it had been more than a year since they’d cleaned out their medicine cabinet, and one-fifth said it had been more than three years.

With this in mind, CR is launching its first annual medicine cabinet clean out this year — think of it as Spring Cleaning for safety reasons.

“People may not realize how dangerous certain medications can be for a child,” explains Lisa Gill, deputy editor for CR Best Buy Drugs.

“Pills within easy reach can be as dangerous as a loaded gun, particularly narcotic painkillers, such as OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin. If you have these pills at home, and you have children around, we urge you to lock them up.”

In addition to keeping them locked away, consumers can safely dispose of their medications at least once a year to lessen the risk of someone misusing these drugs stored at home, especially kids and teenagers.

Don’t limit your spring cleaning to just prescription meds, though, because over-the-counter drugs can be just as dangerous.

“Acetaminophen, used as a fever and pain-reducer, and found in Tylenol and hundreds of other products, is one of the most common accidentally ingested drugs,” Gill reports. Some OTC drugs can cause liver damage or liver failure when it taken in doses too high for a child.

Once you’ve cleaned out the medicine cabinet, how do you safely dispose of the medications? Here are a few tips for getting rid of your potentially dangerous drugs:

Head to your local pharmacy. In 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began allowing pharmacies to voluntarily take back your medications, which is a great option for opioids, ADHD drugs, and sedatives like benzodiazepines, like Xanax. Hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and narcotic treatment programs are also good places to dispose of dangerous drugs.

Most participate in take-back programs, like DisposeMyMeds, which collects and destroys unused drugs. You can find an authorized collector at DisposeMyMeds.org or DEAdiversion.usdoj.gov by searching for “drug disposal.” You can also call the DEA’s Registration Call Center at 800-882-9539.

Save the date. On Saturday, April 29, the DEA will hold its semi-annual National Prescription Take-Back Day. You can drop off your leftover medications at designated police departments, fire stations, and facilities in your community. The drop-off is completely free and anonymous. Another Take-Back Day will take place in October 2017.

Snail mail. For a $5, CVS and Rite-Aid pharmacies provide postage-paid envelopes for customers to send any medications to a disposal facility. Costco also offers a mail-back envelope for $3.99.

Self-service. Walgreens offers a free, anonymous, and secure kiosk in almost all states, where you can simply drop off any medication. Just remove any personal information from the bottles or packaging and drop your meds in the slot.

Disguise your trash. If getting your medications to a pharmacy or drop-off isn’t possible, you can toss your unused drugs in the trash, if you’re careful. By mixing medications with substances that make it less recognizable, like coffee grounds, sawdust, and kitty litter, and sealing it in a plastic bag, you can lessen the risk of the dangerous drug getting into the wrong hands.

Try not to flush. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says flushing your dangerous drugs down the toilet is an option, it is recommended only as a last resort. Trace amounts of drugs can end up in water supply, and possibly harm aquatic life, so refrain from flushing your meds, unless you have absolutely no other choice.