What to do with medicine you no longer need

Most homes have them: the half packet from an illness that cleared up, the syrup bought for a child who has since outgrown the dose, the tablets changed by a doctor two prescriptions ago. They sit in a drawer or a kitchen cupboard, and they are easy to forget about until somebody reaches for them.

Clearing them out is one of the simplest safety improvements you can make at home, and it takes about twenty minutes.

Why old medicine is a problem

Medicines change over time. Some lose strength, so they no longer do what you expect. A few break down into compounds that are less kind to the body than the original. Liquids and eye drops can grow bacteria once opened, regardless of the printed expiry date. And a medicine stored in a hot room or a steamy bathroom will have aged faster than the date suggests.

The bigger risk is simpler than chemistry. A child finds a brightly coloured tablet. A relative takes something that was prescribed for somebody else, for a condition that looked similar. Somebody treats a new infection with an old half-packet of antibiotics. Each of those happens regularly, and each is preventable by not having the medicine in the house.

How to go through what you have

• Gather everything into one place, including the bathroom cabinet, handbags and the car.
• Check the expiry date on every box, bottle and tube.
• Put aside anything that has no label, or a label you can no longer read.
• Put aside anything prescribed for a person or a problem that no longer applies.
• Put aside any liquid, eye drop or cream that was opened more than a few months ago.
• Keep what is current, in date, and still prescribed — and nothing else.

Please do not put them in the bin or the toilet

Medicines thrown into household rubbish can be found by children or animals, and they end up in the ground. Flushed down a toilet or sink they pass into the water system, where antibiotics in particular contribute to resistance in the wider environment. Neither route is safe and neither is necessary.

Bring them to us instead. Put everything in a bag, hand it over the counter, and we will take care of the rest. You do not need an appointment and there is no charge. Needles and sharps should be brought in a rigid container rather than loose.

Storing what you keep

The two enemies are heat and damp, which rules out the two places people most often use: the bathroom and a sunny windowsill. A cool, dry cupboard out of direct light is ideal, and in most Kenyan homes an interior cupboard away from the kitchen stove works well. Keep medicines in their original boxes, because that is where the expiry date and the instructions live.

Anything that needs refrigerating will say so clearly. Keep it in the main body of the fridge rather than the door, where the temperature swings every time the door opens, and never in the freezer compartment.

Out of reach really does mean out of reach

Children climb, and they are quick. A high shelf is better than a low one, a cupboard with a catch is better than a high shelf, and a locked box is better still if there is anything in the house that would be dangerous to a child. That includes iron tablets and paracetamol, both of which are serious in small bodies and both of which look entirely harmless.

If you think a child has swallowed something, do not wait to see whether symptoms appear and do not try to make them vomit. Take the packet with you and get medical help immediately. With several common medicines, treatment given early works well and treatment given late does not.

What "expiry date" really tells you

The date on the box is the point up to which the manufacturer guarantees the medicine is at full strength, provided it has been stored as instructed. It is not a cliff edge, but it is not a formality either, and for some medicines it matters a great deal more than for others.

Treat it strictly for anything you rely on in an emergency, such as an inhaler, an adrenaline pen or a glucose gel, and for antibiotics, eye preparations and insulin. Once a bottle or tube is opened the printed date often no longer applies at all: eye drops in particular are usually discarded a few weeks after opening, regardless of what the box says. Write the opening date on the label with a pen and you will never have to guess.

A sensible routine

• Go through the cupboard twice a year — the start of the long rains and the start of the dry season are easy to remember.
• Keep everyday items such as plasters and paracetamol separate from prescription medicines.
• Keep one person in the household responsible for the box, so nothing drifts.
• Bring anything doubtful to us rather than deciding at home.

Your twice-yearly cupboard check

• Gather everything, including handbags, the car and the bathroom.
• Discard anything expired, unlabelled, or opened months ago.
• Discard anything prescribed for a person or problem that no longer applies.
• Move what is left to a cool, dry, closed box out of children's reach.
• Bring the rest to us in a bag — no appointment and no charge.

Questions we are asked about this

Is a medicine dangerous once it passes its expiry date?

Usually it becomes less effective rather than actively harmful, but with some medicines reduced strength is itself dangerous — an inhaler, an adrenaline pen or an antibiotic that no longer works properly. Treat the date strictly for anything you depend on, and bring the rest to us.

Can I give unused medicine to a relative who needs it?

Please do not. The dose may be wrong for them, it may interact with something they take, and their condition may not be what it appears. It also leaves them without the assessment that would have found the real problem.

Do you charge for taking medicines back?

No. Bring them in a bag and hand them over the counter. Needles and sharps should come in a rigid container rather than loose, for the safety of whoever handles them next.

How should I store medicine during a hot spell?

Keep it in the coolest interior cupboard you have, away from the kitchen stove, windows and the bathroom. Never leave medicines in a parked car, where temperatures climb far beyond what any medicine is tested for. Anything that needs a fridge belongs in the main body of the fridge, not the door.

This article is general information from the Dantrio Pharmacy team. It cannot take the place of advice from a pharmacist or doctor who knows your medical history. If you feel seriously unwell, seek medical help straight away.