Medications - storing
Storing your medicines properly can help to ensure they work as they should as well as prevent poisoning accidents.
Where you store your medicine can affect how well it works. Learn about storing your medicine properly to keep it from getting damaged.
Take care of your medicine.
Keep children safe.
Damaged medicine may make you sick. Do not take:
Get rid of unused medicine safely and promptly.
Do not keep medicine in the glove compartment of your car. Medicine can get too hot, cold, or wet there.
If you are taking an airplane, keep your medicine in your carry-on luggage. To help with security at the airport:
Call your provider for:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Put your medicines up and away and out of sight. www.cdc.gov/patientsafety/features/medication-storage.html. Updated June 10, 2020. Accessed September 21, 2020.
US Food & Drug Administration website. Lock it up: medicine safety in your home. www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm272905.htm. Updated March 27, 2018. Accessed January 21, 2020.
US Food & Drug Administration website. Where and how to dispose of unused medicines. www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm101653.htm. Updated March 11, 2020. Accessed June 15, 2020.BACK TO TOP
Review Date: 1/23/2020
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Editorial update 09/21/2020.
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