Take stock of your medicine cabinet

Flu and cold season is about to start and it’s time to take stock of your family’s medicine cabinet, so when a need arises we don’t go rushing to the drugstore or mistakenly using old medications. Out with the old, in with the new!

1. Get rid of expired medicines. Check for missing original labels, and missing expiration dates. Discard them and everything older than six months. Check your first aid kit and see what gels (burn; antibiotic) need throwing away as well. As parent to allergic kids, I make sure the Epipen (epinephrine injector) for my children is not expired.

2. Dispose expired medications properly. Don’t just throw them into the trash can because your kids and pets can get to them. Pour liquid down the drain and rinse the containers. Place capsules and tablets into opaque plastic bags before throwing into the trash. Better yet, contact the poison control center or hospital for proper disposal. For example, I inject the unused Epipens into a spoiled fruit (citrus works best) this way I get to practice the emergency procedure too, before I discard it at the hazard bin in my pediatrician’s office.

3. List what medicine and supplies you will use. This includes over-the-counter medicines, prescription drugs you might be running out, instruments like glucose monitors and blood pressure cuffs, droppers and measuring spoons, and first aid supplies running low.

4. Buy only the medicine and supplies you need. There is a huge sale this month of cough, cold and sinus medications at several drugstores. That’s because the cold/flu season is about to begin. But be cautious about what you buy. The FDA recently announced that cough and cold medicines should NOT be given to children below 6, so don’t go buying these drugs even at rock bottom prices.

5. While you’re at it… Read the labels and drug information that come with your prescriptions, and make sure you get the dosages correct. Also review your first aid knowledge. Finally, take note of the date you purged and do it again after 6 months.

(This post was part of the Health and Wellness Channel Theme Day – “Harvest”. It’s a spin, I know, but you learned something today!).