Medication Mistakes That Pharmacists Want You to Stop Taking

I was visiting my parents recently and was searching their kitchen for snacks when I noticed something: their medicine was in the cabinet next to the oven.

“It’s not ideal to keep your meds in there,” I told my dad. “You’re cooking all the time, and it’s heated.”

“I’m sure everything’s fine,” my father said. Then he looked at me warily. “You’re going to ask the experts, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Tell your mom and dad that’s not a good idea,” said Myriam Shaw Ojeda, assistant professor of pharmacy practice and science in the College of Pharmacy at Ohio State University. Storing medications near a heat source can reduce their effectiveness, she explained.

My parents aren’t the only ones who assume that one storage location is as good as another. Less than half of participants in the 2021 study properly store their medications. And that’s just one of the many mistakes people make when it comes to filling, storing, and throwing away prescription medications.

Below, pharmacists share their best tips.

Take your medications out of the bathroom cabinet.

Just as storing pills near heat-generating kitchen appliances can reduce their effectiveness, keeping them in a bathroom cabinet is a bad idea, said Mary Bridgeman, a clinical professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University. The term “medicine cabinet” is “a total misnomer,” she said.

Bathroom steam can erode coatings on medications, and heat can break down vigorous ingredients, said Eric MacLaughlin, chair of pharmacy practice at Texas Tech University Health Science Center.

The kitchen can be a good place, he said, as long as you store your medications in a “frigid, dehydrated place” away from temperature fluctuations. (Dr. MacLaughlin also cautioned that medications should be stored away from children and pets.)

Many oral medications should be stored between 68 and 77 degrees, according to the U.S. Pharmacopeia, an independent, nonprofit organization that sets quality standards for medications. Check the patient information leaflet for storage instructions, Dr. MacLaughlin said.

Learn how to take your medications properly.

You may think you know how to take a pill or employ an insulin pen, but studies suggest that half of the prescription drugs taken in the United States are misused. So in addition to asking about any side effects, review the instructions for employ, including what to do if you miss a dose, Dr. Shaw Ojeda said.

“It’s human nature,” she said. “We just walk out of the pharmacy and think, ‘I know how to employ this.’” But some patients inject the medication into the wrong part of their body, put in a suppository with a foil wrap, or overuse their inhaler, she added.

If you are not sure how to administer insulin using a pen or insulin syringe, ask your pharmacist for a demonstration.

And if you crush tablets because you have trouble swallowing them, let your pharmacist know, Dr. MacLaughlin added. Some medications, he said, have a time-release coating or other mechanism that allows the vigorous ingredient to be released more slowly. If you crush them, he said, “you basically get the whole dose at once.”

Check your medications.

Dr Bridgeman said it’s a good idea to periodically review the medications you’re taking to make sure all of them are still necessary and meeting your current needs.

If you have Medicare with a drug plan, Dr. Bridgeman said you may qualify for a service called Medication Therapy Management. It lets you review all your medications with a pharmacist or health care provider. It’s free, and you’ll also get a written summary of your medications that you can bring to your doctor or emergency room. See if you qualify Here.

Ask for prices.

Check with your pharmacist to see if a generic or coupon is available, Dr. MacLaughlin said. “Sometimes manufacturers have coupons that the pharmacy can apply to the patient’s copay,” he added.

In a 2018 Consumer Reports report, investigationMystery shoppers were sometimes able to negotiate a discount when they asked, “Is this really the best price you can offer?”

You can always ask your pharmacist if there are any promotions, Dr. MacLaughlin said, and “they can always say no.”

Dispose of ancient medications properly.

It may seem convenient to flush unused or expired medications down the toilet, but they can end up in our water supply, Dr. MacLaughlin said. And wastewater treatment plants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, They are not designed to be removed. So you’ll want to dispose of them responsibly.

The Drug Enforcement Agency holds a national drug takeback day twice a year — the next one will be on October 26. countdown to the holidays on its website. And many pharmacies have secure boxes for expired medications, Dr. Shaw Ojeda said.

The Department of Justice has search option for year-round drug collection sites in your area. If you can’t get to one of these sites, the Food and Drug Administration has instructions to throw drugs in the garbage.

I told my parents that Dr. Shaw Ojeda had recommended that they move their medications, so they moved them to the pantry next to the expired cans of soup. During my visit, I also noticed that the minestrone was past its expiration date.

My dad sighed and said, “Please don’t call the experts.”

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