A Q and A on Storing Medicines

Keeping medicines safe, effective and out of 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 speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

What is Storing Medicines?

Keeping medicines safe, effective and out of reach.

Why does it matter?

Poisoning in young children is common, preventable, and usually involves ordinary medicines left within reach.

Bathrooms and kitchens for Storing Medicines?

Often too warm and humid.

Expiry dates for Storing Medicines?

Apply once opened too, particularly eye drops.

What is the single most useful thing to do?

Keep medicines in a locked or high cupboard away from children.

What is the most common mistake?

Storing medicines in a bathroom cabinet.

When should I see a doctor?

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 to go next

• New to Storing Medicines? Start Here
• 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 speak to a doctor

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.