Storing Medicines: What To Do
Keeping medicines safe, effective and out of reach.
Last revised
Poisoning in young children is common, preventable, and usually involves ordinary medicines left within reach.
Key takeaways
- Store: cool, dry, out of sight and reach of children
- Bathrooms and kitchens: often too warm and humid
- Most useful single change: Keep medicines in a locked or high cupboard away from children.
- Commonest mistake: Storing medicines in a bathroom cabinet.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to get help" below apply to you.
Do
- Keep medicines in a locked or high cupboard away from children
- Keep them in original packaging with the label
- Return anything out of date or no longer needed to a pharmacy
Do not
- Storing medicines in a bathroom cabinet
- Transferring tablets into unlabelled containers
- Flushing medicines or putting them in household waste
The figures behind the list
Each item above follows from these, published in the guidance named at the foot of the page.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Store | cool, dry, out of sight and reach of children |
| Bathrooms and kitchens | often too warm and humid |
| Expiry dates | apply once opened too, particularly eye drops |
| Disposal | return unused medicines to a pharmacy, never the bin or toilet |
Where to go next
- A Q and A on Storing Medicines
- Storing Medicines in Five Minutes
- Storing Medicines — the reference entry
- Drug Interactions: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
- Repeat Prescriptions: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
When to get help
Call 999 or go to A&E immediately for any suspected poisoning in a child, even if they seem well — do not wait for symptoms and do not make them sick. Iron tablets and button batteries are particularly dangerous and need immediate assessment.
Where this comes from
- NHS — Storing medicines safely
- Child Accident Prevention Trust — poisoning
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.