Wasted Medicines: An Appeal to Pharmacies (VIDEO)

Forty percent of the medicines we store have passed their expiration date and are useless. Antibiotics and painkillers are at the forefront. Pharmacies are key to preventing waste.

di |
waste of drugs

Lo drug waste It invades our homes, every day. And it happens, punctual as clockwork, in the triangle of our consumer errors, of the lack of collaboration of doctors and pharmacists, with some tendency to encourage compulsive purchasing by the pharmaceutical industry.

A waste of money, so much money, private and public: but first and foremost, a serious waste of health, as too many drugs have never been beneficial to anyone. To understand this, just remember one number: 1 million 300 thousand Italians consume, everyday, more than 10 medicines per personDoes this seem possible to you? It's not clear that there's something wrong behind these figures, even for our health?

Every year we throw away, on average, a kilo of waste. Medicines. Intact and unopened packages, bought with compulsion and left in the cupboards until their expiry date: in fact 40 percent of medicines stored by Italian families have exceeded their shelf lifeIt's useless. Very often we self-prescribe medications, even when medical authorization is essential, and we self-suspend them, as if we could independently decide on our own treatments, even the most delicate ones: It is estimated that out of 16 million hypertensives only half accept treatment for the necessary period (usually very long), while the other 8 million take them for two or three months and then throw them away.The pills that we waste the most, according to data from the National Medicines Agency, are antibiotics, followed by painkillers, syrups, drugs for hypertension and heart failure, antiplatelet drugs, and anticoagulants. All expensive medicines.

Now we come to the economic damage caused by medicine waste. Italian pharmaceutical spending exceeds €34 billion annually, €22 billion of which is paid by the National Health Service. Various statistics exist on the value of medicine waste, both reimbursed and paid for by families, and the most reliable ones give these figures: the state wastes something like €3 billion annually, while private individuals waste almost €1 billion.

How to avoid wasting medicines

To avoid wasting medicines, there are 10 very simple and common-sense things to do carefully.
  • Control Always follow the expiration date indicated on the packaging. In general, it is best not to buy drugs too close to the expiry date, especially if we are not sure we will consume the entire package.
  • I will consult The leaflet inside the package, which outlines the correct dosage of the drug. It's true, they're often written in a confusing and incomprehensible way. But the key is to fully understand the drug's characteristics, its contraindications, and the correct dosage.
  • To preserve Keep medicines in a designated cabinet, preferably lockable and out of the reach of children. A perfect way to waste medications is to scatter them around the house, thus losing track of the number of packages.
  • Place in a cool place. In general, medications should not be stored in excessively warm areas of the house. However, some medications are adversely affected by high temperatures: it's best to store them away from heat sources.
  • acquistare the right amount of drug, based on the actual needs of the disease, so as not to keep the package in stock until the product expires. We are not in wartime; there's no point in stockpiling (perhaps simply because the drug is cheap and reimbursable).
  • Do not overdo or underdo, on your own initiative, the dosage of the treatment, but carefully follow the doctor's prescriptions. Medicines should always be used according to the doctor's instructions. Avoid DIY.
  • To ask to your doctor or pharmacist if there are small packages of the medicine, in order to reduce the possibility of any waste. As is appropriate, also for save, ask your doctor and pharmacist if the generic format of the same product can be used.
  • To put away Always keep medicines in their original packaging, keeping them out of the reach of children. This avoids two things: confusion, and therefore waste; and the possibility of children swallowing some medicine.
  • I will consult Consult your doctor for the correct dosage: again, this is no do-it-yourself, and the directions on the package aren't enough. The doctor's word counts.
  • To avoid to buy multiple packages of the same product, unless it is prescribed for the treatment of chronic conditions. It is a useless compulsion to purchase, which is then the antechamber of waste of medicines.

How to use medicines correctly

A key way to avoid wasting medications and achieve the results we expect from a treatment is to know how to use them. With some caution.
  • Don't tamper with prescribed medications. Unfortunately, many people, especially the elderly, have the habit of taking pills in a DIY fashion. They grind them into powder, crush them, or divide them into smaller pieces. This risks nullifying or reducing the medication's effects, and in any case, any changes should be reported to your doctor.
  • Correct doses. The doses must also be those indicated by the prescription, and not by our head or, worse, by the doctor GoogleFor example, doubling the dosage doesn't help you get faster results; it actually increases the risk of side effects. And if you miss a dose, don't double the next one; simply inform your doctor if the mistake occurs more than once in a row.
  • Medicines not in the bathroom This is another of the most frequent errors in the use of medicines, which opens the door to waste: medicines are very sensitive tohumidity And it's better to keep them in a drawer in the bedroom rather than the bathroom. And when we go on vacation, they shouldn't be kept in places where the temperature is above 25 degrees.
  • What to do after medications expire. In general, medications should not be used after their expiration date. Some exceptions are possible in certain circumstances, which we indicate below. here.
  • Beware of cross-contamination and interference. Even in this case, the only certainty can come from your doctor, not from a do-it-yourself approach. Some medications are incompatible with each other, so when receiving a combination of medications, you should always inform your doctor of what you're already taking.
  • Be careful with foods. We must also be careful with foods to avoid side effects with the medications we take. For example: Calcium cheese and dairy products can interfere with a number of antibiotics, and foods made with Iron may interfere with thyroid medications.
  • Drink plenty of fluids. When taking medications, it's important to increase your hydration to improve kidney function. Otherwise, you increase the risk of side effects from the medications you're taking.

How to donate medicines

Another useful way to avoid wasting medicines is to donate them, before they expire, of course. There are associations that work very well, such as Banco Farmaceutico and Farmaco Amico: you find here The instructions are there, but in any case, just contact your trusted pharmacist and you'll find out how, where, and when to donate any leftover medicines. The best way to avoid wasting them is to avoid wasting them.

How to take medications correctly

The effectiveness of a medication depends largely on the position in which it is taken. This theory was already fairly widespread among doctors and pharmacists, but now there is also scientific evidence on the subject. Specifically, a study by a group of researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, published in Physics of Fluid, demonstrates that the best position for effective release of a medication's active ingredients is lying on the right side. In this case, the dissolution rate of the active ingredients, and their passage from the stomach to the duodenum, can be 83 percent better than when taken on the left side, the worst position. And to make medications work better, it is also preferable to avoid taking them while standing or lying down. The choice of position is very important for those people, very young or elderly, who have more difficulty taking medications.

Read also:

Want to see a selection of our news?

Don't Waste