For any medications kept at home, keep them locked away or in a secure location not easily accessible. Remember to keep pills in the provided bottles to easily identify what they are and to whom they belong. Loose pills could be accidentally taken especially by small children who may see them as candy. Always secure them after use back in their secure space and keep track of the amount remaining.
Properly Disposing of your unused or expired medications can also help prevent others from easily obtaining these medications and potentially misusing them. Drug Take Back Days are offered every April and October by local law enforcement agencies as an easy way to drop off prescription medications where they can then be properly destroyed. Another method is to keep disposable products such as Dispose Rx which is a product that can be added to any prescription bottle with water to deactivate the medications to then be thrown away. It is not recommended that medications be disposed of through the water systems within the home due to possible contamination. ALPHA can provide Dispose Rx products for free at any of our office locations.
The Law Enforcement Agencies below also house permanent drop boxes where you can safely drop off unused or expired medications for their disposal any time of the year. Check with your local pharmacy as well for disposal options.
