Approximately 130 Americans DIE EVERY DAY ( https://opioids.thetruth.com/o/the-facts/fact-1005 ) from drug overdoses. That's one person EVERY 11 MINUTES. Do the math, that's 70,237 ( https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html ) EVERY YEAR. Some of those dying are teens- who get the drugs from the medicine cabinet. Doctors overprescribe opioids and a lot of other medications and when we don't finish them, we store them in the cabinet and forget about them. Not only is it dangerous if teens go looking to use or sell them, whether it's your child or one of their friends, but it's dangerous for the person who was prescribed the drugs if they've been sitting in the cabinet. Medications expire- there is no sense holding onto them 'in case' you need them later on. And you shouldn't be 'self-medicating' by using drugs prescribed for a previous condition for a new condition.
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| Photo courtesy of Pexels, Julie Viken |
CLEAN OUT YOUR OLD MEDICATIONS. Not only prescription drugs, but Over The Counter (OTC) drugs. Between my surgery and my husband's, there were too many painkillers, antibiotics, and other drugs in our bathroom. I clean out meds yearly but I leave him to go through his. He didn't do it. So I went through his 'collection.' Some medications were 2-10 YEARS past expiration date. *scratches head....
Once you stockpile all the old/unnecessary drugs, don't just dump them down the sink; there are now traces of opioids in our drinking water https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/drugs-in-the-water. And don't throw them in the garbage. Dispose of them properly- check with your town, county, and state municipal authorities, your local police, or Google where to safely drop them off. Black out all your personal info from any bottles first.
I waited until after April Fool's day because there is nothing humorous about drug addictions or overdoses. Go go clean out those cabinets and make your home a little bit more safe.
Char
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