Daily HealthBeat Tip - January 01, 2007

Left in the medicine chest

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

We get rid of our expired milk. But what about old drugs? Even after we don't need them - and after their expiration dates have passed - they might stay on a shelf. People think, "Maybe we'll need them someday."

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Todd Weber thinks that's a bad idea:

"The leftover drugs may be taken for the wrong reasons. For example, someone may have a viral infection, and self-prescribe the leftover antimicrobial that was prescribed for a bacterial infection. But that drug will have no effect against a viral infection." (12 seconds)

Or a child, or someone who could be allergic, could get them.

Weber is an associate editor of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, which had an article that said leftover antimicrobials were common in Britain. He thinks that's also true here.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January, 08 2007