The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and it’s time for a spring cleaning! As we go through our dusty boxes and clean out drawers and cabinets and closets, we often forget about one of the most important things to clean out…the medicine cabinet! Well, the truth is, we may need to do a little more than just clean it out, but let’s start there.
Safely Dispose
So, after you’ve dug down to the bottom of the drawer and found the old expired cold meds, and the left-over meds from your surgery 2 years ago, and vitamins that aren’t good anymore, etc. then what? Well, don’t flush it or toss it in the trash as this could lead to pollution or medications getting to our kiddos or pets. There is actually a safe way to dispose of those meds. Here in Charlotte County we have several “take back” safe disposal sites. See the full list of locations below. In fact, now is a perfect time to do this because National Drug Take Back Day is April 27th. While only the location in the Public Safety Center in Punta Gorda is open on Saturday – you drop off medications at any of our local sites during the week!
Don’t stop there though…
…there are other great safety choices to keep you and your family safe like safe storage.
Safely Store
After you clean everything out though, often we still have some medications on hand that we frequently use. It is important to keep those medications in a secure place, locked when possible, and out of reach of children. This helps prevent theft and accidental overdose. There are also medication lock box solutions as well. In addition to safely disposing of medications and storing them properly, we need to consider one more piece to the medication safety puzzle and that is safe use.
Safely Use
Safe use is really 2-fold. The first part of safe use consists of monitoring your medications, counting your pills and using pill boxes can help to avoid accidently taking double doses and theft as well. Most teens who abuse prescription medications get them from family and friends, often without them knowing it. The second part of safe use is talking about medication safety with others, especially kids. Talk to them about how it isn’t safe to take other people’s medications. Tell them about why your being careful with your own medications. Model for them how to be responsible when it comes to medication safety.
Each and every person who chooses to use the safe use, safe storage, and safe disposal methods when it comes to medication safety, all play a part in protecting themselves, others, and the environment. So, go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back after you finish that spring-cleaning project that includes your medications because you deserve it! For more information on safe use, safe storage, and safe disposal visit: http://www.saferx.tips/index.html
Charlotte County Take-Back Box Locations:
(NOTE: no liquids or sharps)
Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office
District 1
11051 Wilmington Blvd
Englewood
Charlotte County Sheriff’s
Office
District 3- Promenades
Mall
3280 Tamiami Trail
Port Charlotte
Charlotte County Sheriff’s
Office
Administrative Building
7474 Utilities Road
Punta Gorda
Punta Gorda Public Safety
Complex
1410 Tamiami Trail
Punta Gorda