Donate medicines, they could save a life
Some years ago, on a visit to the doctor, I had an additional request. I had a lot of things in my medicine cabinet that I wanted to dispose off. These were medicines that were well within their use-by dates, and many were still sealed. I was hoping that the clinic which is a part of a large chain in the UAE, could provide a brilliant and efficient solution, and the medicines would be used by someone in need. The senior specialist that I consulted told me that there was no such system, and that they did not have a charity arm that could utilise the unused medication.
This did not sit well with my practical streak, which saw a clear and easy solution that would reward the recipient, the giver, and the channel of delivery. At a simple level, I used to dispense medicines to the gardener, the helper, workers in the community but my circle of influence only went up to sprains or cuts or headaches — the simple stuff. So imagine my delight when I discovered that the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has been running a ‘Clean Your Medicine Cabinet’ campaign for many years. Today, there are 16 DHA clinics and hospitals that accept medicine from individuals (Me!!), assess it and either dispense it or destroy it safely.
On a hopeful note, DHA has just announced that its centres have received Dh2 million worth of donated medicines in the last quarter. That is absolutely brilliant!
Earlier, if you were responsible, the practice was to flush unused medicine down the toilet. It is not recommended as it ends up polluting water systems. Same with tossing them in the trash. The usual rules
Dubai Health Authority has just announced that its centres have received Dh2 million worth of donated medicines in the last quarter. That is absolutely brilliant!
apply with storing your medication: it should all be kept in a cool, dark place (no direct sunlight, ie, or moisture, humidity), and locked securely out of the reach of children and pets.
All very obvious information, right? Well, I can counter that: when my son was about two years old, he discovered his grandmother’s medicines. She had a habit opening up all her numerous pills and keeping them in a squat bottle with a screw cap. I found my son one morning with the entire contents of the jar spread out on the bed in front of him. Choking back the panic I asked him in what I imagined was a very calm voice if he had had any of the colourful pills. He nodded and beamed at me. I grabbed him and rushed to the hospital, calling my husband on the way. The doctors in Emergency were very kind but have you tried taking the ECG or other vitals of an alert and mulish two-year-old? It’s not easy. The doctors wouldn’t believe that developmentally, a two-yearold could open the screw-cap of the jar. I handed it over and my son calmly opened it, and then strolled around the emergency ward, making friends with kids wearing oxygen masks...
For certain medicines, throwing up is unsafe. The doctors gave crushed charcoal pills to absorb possible toxins. They kept my son under observation for 24 hours. The police interviewed everybody to ascertain that there was no malintent. The point is that the whole horrific episode could have been avoided if the medicines had been stored out of reach.
The DHA has a checklist of advice on the storage and safe disposal of medicines. But the fact that you can share your unused pills with someone who probably has a hard time affording them should be a source of comfort. — harveena@khaleejtimes.com