Safe medication disposal critical to patient safety

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Leon Russell
  • 5th Medical Group
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  It has happened to the majority of military members ... they open their medicine cabinet and there is a decade's worth of unused medications, providing snapshots of all the pain and turmoil they have endured through the years. 

Many individuals have rarely thought, "How should I dispose of these medications safely?"

The first option to safely and responsibly dispose of unwanted medication is to give it back to the pharmacy. The pharmacy has two medication amnesty boxes located adjacent to window four. The white box is for legend medications (non-narcotic) and the green box is for controlled substances (narcotics).

If a patient decides to dispose of the medication at home, they must ensure to follow these steps: (1) take the medication out of the prescription bottle and dissolve it with water; (2) mix it with an undesirable substance such as coffee grounds, kitty litter, ashes, dirt, sawdust, flour or salt (this step discourages others from tampering with the substance); (3) place the mixture back in the prescription bottle and remove all personal and drug information from the bottle; (4) then place the bottle in a sealable bag, empty container or can; (5) the last step is to discard the sealed contents into a garbage can as close to trash collection day as possible to avoid possible tampering with the contents.

As a reminder, don't combine discarded medications with food because people and/or wildlife can rummage in the trash for food. Another option is to flush controlled medications down the toilet. This option assists in keeping everyone in the household safe from accidental ingestion. Certain controlled medications may be extremely dangerous if ingested by persons other than those for which they are prescribed.

Symptoms of accidental ingestion by children or pets include: difficulty breathing, heart problems or even death. These medications should be flushed down the toilet or sink for safe disposal, but don't flush any medications unless flushing is permitted on the product packaging.

Proper disposal of unwanted and/or expired drugs not only keeps homes safe, but it also ensures a healthy living environment. To receive more information or any other prescription-related topics, call the 5th Medical Group's Pharmacy at (701) 723-5633.