I'm often asked by clients what they should do with unused meds or in the case of ineffective meds that you want switched, the answer is the same. Turn them in to your doctor. There's growing concern about medication that gets flushed down the drain or toilet, as the levels of meds are raising in our drinking water and in lakes and rivers. This shouldn't really suprise anybody, since we've been flushing meds into the sewer system for years.
To fentanyl patch wearers, I have written to all manufacturers of patches raising concerns about their directions to flush used or unused and no-longer-needed patches down the toilet. Personally, I consider these patches to be medical waste and a serious bio-hazard. In my opinion, they should be incinerated, and since the trash in our area goes to an incinerator to generate power and steam, I take packing tape and wrap the patch in that and wait until collection day, then put them in the bag with my other trash. I say packing tape because it sticks like crazy, and there's really no way to accidently come in contact with the patch itself. I don't yet have any great ideas on non-incinerated trash but I'll think of something.
For those who would make the argument that somebody could retreive them from my trash, they go out just before pick-up, and in a condition that even the most hardened drug user wouldn't want.
I'm often asked by clients what they should do with unused meds or in the case of ineffective meds that you want switched, the answer is the same. Turn them in to your doctor. There's growing concern about medication that gets flushed down the drain or toilet, as the levels of meds are raising in our drinking water and in lakes and rivers. This shouldn't really suprise anybody, since we've been flushing meds into the sewer system for years.
This is a great question Davey. I would agree that flushing them is NOT the right thing to do for the reason you say about our water supply. I read an article recently where it talked about this very issue and how some of the nation's water supplies....Mainly in bigger cities....Have therapuetic levels of anti-depressants, steroids, and antibiotics.....And lower levels of meds like narcotics, and etc. The point of the article was that our water supply could actually be medicating many of us, depending on where you live and what particular meds are in those systems. Kinda scary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by daveseavy
To fentanyl patch wearers, I have written to all manufacturers of patches raising concerns about their directions to flush used or unused and no-longer-needed patches down the toilet. Personally, I consider these patches to be medical waste and a serious bio-hazard. In my opinion, they should be incinerated, and since the trash in our area goes to an incinerator to generate power and steam, I take packing tape and wrap the patch in that and wait until collection day, then put them in the bag with my other trash. I say packing tape because it sticks like crazy, and there's really no way to accidently come in contact with the patch itself. I don't yet have any great ideas on non-incinerated trash but I'll think of something.
No one should know that your trash has fentanyl patches in them, so I doubt seriously it is an issue. But, if you want to be ultra safe, I've heard of people who put the discarded patches in with kitty litter, or mix it in with some type of household trash like kitchen grease, or some other type of messy stuff that people wouldn't sift through. Having the trash buried in a landfill is safe....Once it's exposed to the elements, it will be non transferrable and not an issue.
Thought that maybe you Davey, or others, may find this interesting / useful. It's a publication recently put out by the FDA called "Disposal by Flushing of Certain Unused Medicines: What You Should Know."
Thought that maybe you Davey, or others, may find this interesting / useful. It's a publication recently put out by the FDA called "Disposal by Flushing of Certain Unused Medicines: What You Should Know."
I wish the EPA would get involved in this with the FDA. Sure, it's a great way to get rid of the drugs immediately, but in the long run, it really isn't keeping ANYBODY safe. BTW - we had an article in the Minneapolis paper not too long ago that says there are traces of hormone changes in fish, and it's being traced back to birth control pills. A little levity here - can you imagine a lake full of stoned fish because of narcotics being flushed down the toilet?
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