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Don’t Flush that Old Medicine!
By Brandon | Last edited: July 31, 2008
An increasingly common and potentially very dangerous form of ridding yourself of expired medication is to simply flush it down the toilet. In the past, flushing old drugs has been recommended because it is quick and easy. If simply thrown into the trash, then one runs the risk of having a child or animal being subjected to the chemicals which could be potentially dangerous. However, new studies have shown that the increasing amount of people flushing their old medication pills is causing some serious problems.
Scientists are now finding antibiotics, hormones and other medicines in sewer lines and waterways. This has caused some huge red flags to go up when considering potential health and environmental dangers caused by this rapid increase. The new question has become, “What do I do with these drugs instead?” This is a question that is currently going unanswered.
Although this issue could become serious, there is currently no solution to the problem. However, the Food and Drug Administration is currently looking at the issue and considering more effective and safe routes of disposal. Separately, some states are working to allow nursing homes to donate leftover drugs to indigent patients, as long as they weren’t opened and were well guarded against tampering of any kind.
For now, the safest method of disposal is to securely wrap the medicine and put it into a trash can such that it is out of reach of children and animals. Simply throwing the medicine away unaware can be dangerous, but by taking steps to insure that it would be difficult to get to the disposed medicine, the dangers can be decreased dramatically and this method is currently much safer and more recommended then simply deciding to flush the old medicine. Be conscious of how you get rid of your old and expired medication, and always seek out the safest and cleanest method for disposing of it.
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