Be Smarter About Your Meds
By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. What's getting in the way of great health? One thing could be those bottles of prescription meds you have rattling around in your drawer with the final two or three pills that you never took (not good!).
You shouldn't have any prescription meds sitting around that you're not taking right now. But we know that only 33 percent of people take all prescribed meds religiously, and we've done enough home invasions to see that that's true. So now's the time to get rid of those extras -- and new guidelines help you know what to toss where without hurting anyone.
Way back when, expired meds exited the world the same way as belly-up goldfish: The flush treatment. But traces of meds started showing up in the water system. Now, some get flushed, and some don't. Here's what's what:
Flush: If your meds show up on the list at fda.gov (put "disposal by flushing" into the search box) to see if any of your meds are on it. Certain meds are too dangerous to have lying around in the trash, so the FDA now recommends that certain unused drugs -- especially serious painkillers like Oxycontin (extended release) and Percocet -- be flushed so they don't fall into the wrong hands (or, really, mouths).
Don't flush: Everything else. Instead, mix them with something undesirable that's already headed for the trash (like that week-old Chinese food that you never got around to eating. If you're tidier than that, coffee grounds work fine). And next time, take your prescriptions as directed!
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The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: The Owner's Manual." Want more? See "The Dr. Oz Show" on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com. (c) 2009 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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