Spring Clean Your Medicine Cabinet

Has it been a while since you looked through all the pills and other items stored in your medicine cabinet? If the answer is “yes,” include getting rid of prescription and over the counter (OTC) medications that have expired or gone unused for months to years as part of your spring cleaning. There are numerous reasons why this is a healthy decision. Sure, it can be tempting to leave a keep a half bottle of leftover pain relievers or some antibiotics around “just in case,” but you could be putting yourself or family members at risk for accidental ingestion, misuse, or overdose. And while it’s true that some pills keep their potency for years, other drugs lose their effectiveness and still others can change composition over time and become dangerous. One example is the antibiotic tetracycline which can become toxic after its expiration date, resulting in kidney problems if ingested. …