Unused medication

[purplelily]

Hi all, just wondered whether anyone knew what should be done with unused medication? I'm sure I heard somewhere that they should be taken back to the doctor, or hospital? I get free prescriptions because of my illness, and I feel really guilty that I have a bunch of tablets (from meds that I started taking but that didn't work/I had a bad reaction to) sitting in the drawer, when someone else could be using them! Thanks :)

[kazza12345]

take them to the chemist to be destroyed... no matter where you take them they wont be reused, so i'm afriad i can't help on the feeling guilty bit!

[Buenchico]

Unused medicines should be handed in at a pharmacy or doctor's surgery. (It can be any pharmacy or surgery. It doesn't have to be where they were obtained from). This, however, is simply to ensure that they don't fall into the wrong hands (e.g. being found by children) or, for example, contaminate water supplies if they end up in a land fill site which leaks into a nearby watercourse.

Returned medicines are not normally re-used because of the risk of some form of contamination or degradation having occurred while the medicines were away from the care of a pharmacist. (e.g. many medicines should be stored on cool conditions. When a pharmacist accepts returned medicines, he's got no idea whether they've been correctly stored or whether they've been standing on a window ledge, in direct sunshine, for several months).

So, do return your medicines but don't expect them to be re-used.

Chris

[purplelily]

Thanks both! At least I know not to just throw them in the bin - I didn't even think about where they might end up :S

I shall toodle along to the nearest pharmacy on Tuesday - thanks again! x.

p.s. ...can't quite believe I was daft enough to think they'd be re-used either - I shouldn't be allowed out alone, really...