Almost everybody has them: a half-full bottle of a prescription you no longer take, or leftover cough medicine from a cold. Unused medications may sit in your cabinet or nightstand for months — or even years — without a second thought. But even when stored away, prescription and over-the-counter medications can be dangerous and even deadly in the wrong hands.
In 2024, Poison Control Centers across the country received over two million calls for possible poisoning. Over 1.5 million of these calls involved a prescription or over-the-counter medication, including pain medications, allergy drugs, and vitamins. Almost all poisoning cases (92 percent) occurred in a home. Most exposures were accidental (78 percent), and more than half involved children and young people under age 20. Children under the age of six made up 39 percent of all poison cases in 2024.

The good news is that medication poisoning can be prevented. By storing medications safely and securely, you can prevent poisoning and help keep your loved ones safe. The Department of Consumer Protection offers these tips on how you can safely store medication:

·      Keep medications in their original container. Never mix different medications together into one container.

·      Lock up medications. Consider using a safe for controlled substances, like strong medications for pain or sleep.

·      Keep medications out of reach of children, pets, and anyone at risk of misuse or accidental ingestion.

·      Store medications safely when guests, workers, or family are in the home. This includes the holidays and other times friends and family may be over.

·      Check medications regularly for unwanted or expired drugs. Set a schedule for checking your medications, like changes in daylight savings time or the seasons, to help you remember.

If you have unwanted, damaged, or expired medications, it’s important to dispose of them safely. Never flush them down in the sink or toilet, as this can affect our waterways and drinking water. Safe disposal options include:

·      Throwing the drugs away in your trash;

·      Dropping them off at a drug collection or drop box. You can find a drop box near you at https://portal.ct.gov/dropbox;

·      Bringing them to a drug take-back event.

To safely throw away medications at home, follow these four simple steps:

1.     Remove the medication from its original container. Put the unwanted medication in a sealed container, like an empty yogurt cup. Cross off or remove personal information from the empty bottle.

2.     Make the medication unusable by mixing it with something unappealing, like soapy water, used coffee grounds or kitty litter.

3.     Seal the container with duct tape.

4.     Throw the sealed container in your household trash. Do not recycle it.

Safely storing and disposing of prescription and over-the-counter medications helps keep your family and loved ones safe. By just taking these simple steps, you can help prevent poisonings from happening in your home. For more information, visit the Department of Consumer Protection’s Safe Storage webpage at https://portal.ct.gov/dcp/safestorage.

If you are having a poison emergency, call Poison Control, at any time of the day or night, at 1-800-222-1222 or visit https://www.poisonhelp.org.

This article was written by Diana Shaw, MPH, director of outreach and education for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. To learn more about how the Department of Consumer Protection can help, visit www.ct.gov/dcp.