How to store medicines at home safely: pharmacists explain

How to store medicines at home safely: pharmacists explain

2023-04-05

Today we’ve got a masterclass in storing home medicine. Pharmacists say that lots of people store drugs in the wrong places, and for too long. For example, older adults may think the fridge is the best place to keep eye drops, but it can actually be the worst place. And how long can you keep a product before it goes bad? We spoke to two pharmacists to get the facts on these and other dilemmas.

A patient squeezes out some eye drops. They don’t want to waste the rest, so they put it in the fridge for safe keeping. But pharmacists say that’s the wrong move.

Su Po-ming
Pharmacist
Your typical eye drops can be stored at room temperature. If you put them in the fridge and take them out again, the crystals might not be able to melt back into their original liquid state, and when you put them in your eyes, they could damage the cornea.

The majority of medicines can be stored at room temperature in a cool place, unless your doctor or pharmacist specifically tells you to put it in the fridge. It’s best to avoid keeping drugs in kitchens, bathrooms, window sills and vehicles, as those places can cause medicines to go bad. But above all, avoid decanting a drug from one container to another.

Yi Li-chen
Pharmacist
The principles of storage for medicines are, avoid light, humidity and heat. This bottle is opaque, to keep the medicine away from light. Some bottles contain a desiccant which you can see when you open it; that’s helping keep the product dry. If you put a medicine like this into a medicine dispenser, it immediately starts a chemical reaction with the water particles in the air, and it starts to become sticky.

Medicines that have been packaged in a pharmacy can usually not be kept for more than six months.

Yi Li-chen
Pharmacist
Things that are packed up like this can generally only be kept for three to six months - if you’re keeping it at normal room temperature or below, and the humidity is no higher than 60%. If, after three to six months, you start feeling suspicious, you can take it to a pharmacist to assess whether it has gone bad.

Pharmacists say that you only need to specially dispose of packaging for controlled substances, like injection solutions, antibiotics, anticancer drugs or hormone supplements. Other medicines can be simply thrown away in general trash.

藥品保存學問大! 眼藥水沒用完別放冰箱

2023-04-05

如果眼藥水沒用完，有些人會放到冰箱保存，其實這是種迷思，藥師提醒，除了有特別指示需要冷藏，否則大多數藥品，都只需在室溫陰涼處存放。另外，包括廚房、浴室或窗邊，以及車內，也都不適合保存藥物，還有切記別把藥品，重新分裝到其他容器，才能避免變質。

眼藥水滴幾滴、沒用完怕浪費，有人放進冰箱裡保存，以備不時之需，但藥師提醒大家別這樣做。

[[藥師蘇柏名]]
“一般正常的眼藥水其實放在室溫下就可以。那如果你從冰箱又再拿出來，但是這個結晶沒有辦法溶回去原本的眼藥水的話，那你點到眼睛裡面，它有可能會傷害到我們眼睛的角膜。”

除了醫師或藥師，特別指示需要冷藏，否則大多數藥品，都是室溫陰涼處存放。此外，廚房、浴室或窗邊，以及車內環境，都容易使藥物變質，還有切記不要把藥品，重新分裝到其他容器。

[[藥師易麗珍]]
“原則上的話，我們藥品的一個保存原則，就是避光、避濕、避熱。(例如)現在這個瓶子它是不透光的，它不透光就是在避光。有些瓶子的話，你打開的時候，你可以看到它上面其實是有一個乾燥劑的，它其實已經在幫你避濕了。那像這種藥物來講的話，你如果把它放到分藥盒，它馬上就開始跟空氣中的這些水分，做氧化的作用，它就會開始變得黏黏的。”

藥局已分裝的藥品，最久大概能保存半年。

[[藥師易麗珍]]
“像這種(夾鏈袋)分裝完的，之後這樣子可以保存多久呢，一般來講是三到六個月，如果是說你是在正常的室溫下面，而且是在濕度在小於60%以下，(過了)三到六個月的話，你開始覺得說有點懷疑(變質)，就是拿過來給藥師評估一下，它到底變質了沒有。”

藥師表示，只有針劑、抗生素、抗腫瘤和賀爾蒙藥物等管制藥品，需特別回收處理，其餘種類都能直接丟垃圾桶。

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Besides the rice tour, you can also come to the second floor and play on this self-playing piano that is 103 years old.

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