Spring Cleaning? Don’t Forget Your Medicine Cabinet!

medication cleanout

As you tackle your closets and home for spring cleaning this year, medical experts say don’t forget your medicine cabinet. When old medications are left to collect dust, they become potential sources of poisoning to young children or may be accessed by teens experimenting with drugs. They also are a hazard to adults and elderly as they increase the risk of choosing the wrong bottle or taking medications that are no longer indicated.

 

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Pharmacy’s Texas Panhandle Poison Center and the Lubbock County VOICES Coalition will host a Medication Cleanout™ from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 8 at the Texas Tech Physicians Medical Pavilion, 3601 4th St.
 

Jeanie Jaramillo-Stametz, Pharm.D., director of the Texas Panhandle Poison Center, encourages Lubbock and surrounding area residents to clean out their medicine cabinets and bring in any unused, expired or unnecessary medications for proper disposal.

 

“Flushing or throwing old medications into the trash may contaminate the environment, pollute our drinking and ground water and harm aquatic creatures,” Jaramillo-Stametz said. “Also, the abuse of prescription medications continues to be an epidemic in the U.S. and often serves as a precursor to heroin use and addiction. Medication Cleanout™ is a proactive approach to safeguard our communities by providing a free and convenient way for people to dispose of these medications in a legal, environmentally sound and convenient manner.”

 

This spring will mark the milestone of reaching the 50th Medication Cleanout™ event. Continued use of a drive-thru, drop-off format will allow residents to dispose of their medications with the added convenience of not leaving their cars. Yard signs will be posted along 4th street. to help locate the drive through path. Medications should be in their original containers. To date, more than 34,000 pounds of unneeded medicine and sharps have been disposed of properly through the TTUHSC Medication Cleanout™ program. These medicines are no longer a threat for poisoning, abuse, misuse or environmental contamination. Because of environmental restrictions, only medications from households can be accepted. Loads of medications from clinics, pharmacies and other businesses are not allowed.

 

The Medication Cleanout™ is a TTUHSC School of Pharmacy initiative and is partially sponsored by the Lubbock County VOICES Coalition with support from the TTUHSC School of Medicine and the Lubbock Police Department. For more information about the Medication Cleanout™, call (806) 414-9495 or visit www.MedicationCleanout.com.  

Related Stories

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Rural Adolescents

Leigh Ann Reel, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A, discussed the causes and prevention strategies for noise-induced hearing loss, particularly for adolescents in rural areas.

Willed Body Memorial Service Honors Those Who Donated

On Memorial Day each May, a service is conducted at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Institute of Anatomical Sciences to pay respect to the Willed Body Program donors and their families.

Molecular Pathology Preceptorship: Unmatched Value and Experience

Ericka Hendrix, PhD, MB(ASCP)CM, Program Director and Associate Professor in the Master of Science in Molecular Pathology program in the School of Health Professions spoke about the program’s preceptorship.

Recent Stories

Health

TTUHSC Receives $1.3 Million HRSA Telehealth Resource Center Grant to Expand Telehealth in Texas and Louisiana

The TexLa Telehealth Resource Center, based at TTUHSC, has been awarded a $1.3 million, four-year grant from HRSA to strengthen and expand digital health services in Texas and Louisiana.

Health

The Relational Health Center Celebrates Two Years of Care for Families

On Friday, August 22, from 3 - 5 p.m., the Relational Health Center is celebrating its second birthday with an open house event at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock.

Campus Life

From Backpacks to White Coats: TTUHSC School of Medicine Invests in Tomorrow’s Healers Today

As part of its partnership with JAMP, the TTUHSC School of Medicine Admissions Office recently partnered with Alderson Elementary School in the Lubbock Independent School District to provide critical school supplies.