The last full week in March is Poison Prevention Week.  Don’t just take my word for it, check out the Illinois Poison Center at http://illinoispoisoncenter.org/, or the national website http://www.poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/  . You can sign up to receive information, stickers, worksheets – all sorts of great information to keep you safe and informed.

Spend a little time this month organizing your medications and make your home safer for yourself and your family.

Medications and Supplements: 

How to Store them:

• Bathrooms and kitchens, the most common places in your home to find medications and supplements, are often the worst places to keep them.  Heat and humidity can cause the drugs to deteriorate.
• Store medications and supplements in a cool, dry and dark place.
• Keep medications and supplements in their original packaging, or keep the original packaging with warnings, usage information, and serial numbers for future reference.
• I don’t take medications, but I do use a sorter for my own supplements.  The sorter and all of the supplements are kept on a high shelf, all together, with original packaging.  For the longest time, I thought I am too young to use a pill sorter!  They remind me of my dear grandmother.  But it has really helped me take my vitamin supplements more regularly, handle them all less often but with more focus, and they travel so much easier all doled out in their little compartments instead of in their bottles!
• A woman at an Organize Your Kitchen classes let out a whoop when I mentioned keeping medicine and supplement bottles in a small bin or basket in her kitchen cabinet.  Now, we have fun in my classes, but folks rarely let out a whoop.  She really loved the idea of having all the little bottles corralled in a basket, for ease of use and storage.

What to discard and how to discard it:

• Check expiration dates on all products, prescription and OTC, and discard if the date has passed.
• Discard syrups that have separated, pills that have turned powdery, adhesive tape that has yellowed.
• Don’t flush: Flushed medicines can end up in the groundwater supply and can cause problems for local wildlife.
• Don’t throw away medications, they may pose risk to children or animals.
• Return to pharmacy or research disposal programs. Ask your sanitation department about “household hazardous waste collection.” Or, inquire at pharmacies and hospitals for collection programs.
• Again, the Illinois Poison Center website is http://illinoispoisoncenter.org/
• If you must trash them, keep them in original child- proof containers and scratch off any personal information.
• Add water to pills and flour to liquids to they cannot be reused.
• Double-bag, and keep separate from food garbage.

Another Potential Danger in the home may be your Cleaning supplies. 

How to Store Them:

• Designate just one or 2 places for them to be in your home, so it is easier to monitor what you have.
• In our home, the cleaning supplies are either locked up under the kitchen sink behind child-proof locks, or on a tall closet shelf.
• They are out of reach of little hands, and are all together in 2 bins – one for every day cleaning supplies, and one for the exceptions, like rug and upholstery cleaner, rubber gloves, etc.

How to get rid of them:

• Use them up if they are still useful, that is the best way to get rid of them.
• Many communities have Hazardous Materials collection events in the spring and fall, check your local listings.
• Also, click here for the City of Chicago Household Chemicals / Computer Recycling Facility Overview  
• There is a permanent collection site in Naperville, too:  http://www.naperville.il.us/hhw.aspx

So, here is your call to action, readers.  Preventing Poison tragedies is everyone’s concern and business.  Take 5 minutes or an hour, and make your home, family and our environment safer.   Thanks!