Home Medicine Kit Review: 5 Useful Tips

How to organize the chaos in a home medicine kit and conduct a review of medications? We have five useful tips to help you avoid panic during emergency situations.

Determine a single storage location for medications

Storing medicines in different rooms or cupboards is not the best idea. In emergencies, you won't have time to run around the house looking for the right medicine. Gather all your medications now and designate a common storage spot (just don't forget that some of them need to be stored in the refrigerator).

Remove all expired medications

Check the expiration dates of your medicines – expired drugs can be dangerous. Important note: if you have already opened the packaging, the expiration date for some medications is shortened. According to Russian regulations, this period is up to the first day of the indicated month.

For example, “valid until April 2021” means that the medication should not be used after March 31, 2021, i.e., it is valid until the first day of April 2021. Therefore, make it a habit to check medication expiration dates every six months.

How to dispose of medications?

• Water-soluble drugs (marked as “dispersible”) can be flushed down the toilet.
• Other medications should be thrown into a trash bin. But first, remove all tablets from their packaging, crush them into powder, place them in a bag, and mix with something inedible (sand, soil, tea leaves, or cat litter). This way, hazardous waste will be inaccessible to homeless people and animals.

Sort medications into groups

Since the size and contents of medicine kits vary from person to person, plan your own categories. For example: “fever reducers,” “pain relievers,” “antihistamines,” “medications for poisoning,” “gels and ointments for burns, thermometers, bandages, plasters,” etc.

Then sort medications by groups depending on storage conditions. Medications that need to be kept in the refrigerator should be placed on a separate shelf. Other tablets should be stored according to the instructions on their packaging. Most of them can be stored at room temperature, in a dry and light-protected place.

Organize them in containers

It's time to organize storage. Don’t just dump everything into one large box — hide medications in plastic containers or boxes depending on category, and label them.

You can use small plastic dressers with internal dividers. Store medications vertically in a file cabinet style — this way, they won’t block each other, and you can quickly find what you need. If the medication name is not visible, label it on the package with a marker.

IMPORTANT

If there are children or pets in the house, store medications as high up as possible. Or use locks that kids won't be able to open.

Assemble an emergency medicine kit

Necessary protective supplies against infection: masks, antiseptics, alcohol wipes (or portable soap), disposable wipes, and additional hygiene products. Pack them into a small cosmetic case and take it with you every time you leave the house.