In almost every home, there’s some form of prescription medication that someone is taking or has taken in the past. While not all of these medications are narcotics or would necessarily be dangerous for someone to have access to, it’s important that you and your family members do your best to keep potentially dangerous medicines away from your children or from those who might try to abuse these substances.
To help you in doing this, here are three tips for keeping your prescription medications safe at home.
Don’t Allow For Easy Access
One of the first things you should do when you have medication, be it prescription medication or over-the-counter medication, is to keep them out of reach of those who shouldn’t be taking them on their own.
According to the CDC, the actual place where you keep your medication will vary based on your home, your kids, and your circumstances. However, any place that you keep your medicines should preferably be high up so that your young kids can’t gain easy access to them. Ideally, you should also choose a location that isn’t out in the open so that your children or any other guests to your home don’t automatically see where you’re keeping your medications.
Constantly Monitor How Much Medication You Should Have
Whether you are actively concerned about certain medications being abused at home or not, it’s a good practice to always keep track of how much medication you should have so you can monitor if something’s missing.
DrugFree.org shares that if you have to wait until you’re abnormally early to refill a prescription before you notice that something might be amiss, you’ve likely overlooked a big problem taking place in your house. Some of the options could be that your kids have taken your medicine not realizing what it was or someone is abusing another’s prescription medications. Either way, this is a situation you’ll want to avoid by keeping track of how much medicine you should have and how much medicine you actually do have.
Get Rid Of Medication You No Longer Need Or Use
Once the time comes that you no longer need to be using a medication, be it prescription or otherwise, the safest thing to do is to get rid of that medication so it’s no longer in your home.
According to Andis Robeznieks, a contributor to the American Medical Association, the best way to go about this is to use a local “take back” program. These are usually located at places like a police station, pharmacy, or DEA collection site.
If you’re unsure about the best ways to keep your medications safe when at your home, consider using the tips mentioned above to protect your family from taking medications that they shouldn’t.
