How should medicines be stored during the summer?
Introduction: As summer arrives, high temperatures and humidity become prevalent, and pathogenic bacteria become more active. With even a slight oversight, one might suffer from gastrointestinal illnesses, diarrhea, food poisoning, air-conditioning sickness, colds, dermatitis, and more. Therefore, it is advisable to keep some medicines at home for emergencies. These include calamine lotion or corticosteroid preparations to prevent solar dermatitis, berberine to treat mild diarrhea, probiotics to relieve symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases, and the antipyretic and analgesic paracetamol. Ren Dan (a cooling pill), Feng You Jing (medicated oil), adhesive bandages, skin disinfectants, and sterile gauze are also essential summer medicines. However, how to properly store these medicines to ensure their quality and the safety of their use is of utmost importance. Here, the editor will introduce you to some knowledge about medicine storage.
Different types and dosage forms of medicines have different storage requirements. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, there are generally four temperature requirements for medicine storage: room temperature (10-30°C), cold storage (2-10°C), cool and dark place (away from light and not exceeding 20°C), and a cool place (not exceeding 20°C). Therefore, some medicines need to be refrigerated, some require protection from light, and some can be stored at room temperature.
Storage of Tablets and Capsules
After opening the packaging, the desiccant provided can be placed back in the original bottle to prevent the medicine from absorbing moisture. It is best to store them in a light-protective glass bottle, such as a brown one, and different medicines must be stored separately. Powders and granules are packaged in sealed sachets. Since many additives to improve taste can promote drug deterioration, they cannot be kept for long after opening. In humid weather, the sachet opening must be tightly closed, and attention should be paid to moisture-proofing. For liquid preparations such as cough syrups, antihistamine syrups, antipyretic and analgesic solutions, or cold syrups, they generally do not need to be refrigerated after opening and can be stored at room temperature. This is because most liquid preparations may have reduced drug solubility at low temperatures, and the sugar in syrups can easily crystallize as the temperature drops, leading to a drug concentration that does not match the original label. For external ointments, storage at too low a temperature can cause the base to separate, affecting the uniformity and efficacy of the ointment, so room temperature storage is sufficient. Oral medicines and external medicines should be stored separately. After use, tighten the cap to prevent oxidation and degradation of the medicine.
Medicines that Require Refrigeration
These mainly include biological products such as injectable insulin, albumin, and vaccines; oral probiotics, such as the live bacterial preparation Pei Fei Kang for regulating gastrointestinal function; external liniments should also have their caps tightened after use to prevent the solvent, such as alcohol, from evaporating due to high temperatures; eye drops, nasal drops, ear drops, lotions, and mouthwashes; some dry suspensions, which are stored in powder form in containers, should also be refrigerated after being mixed with water, such as some antibiotic dry suspensions. In their unmixed state, they can be stored at room temperature for the labeled shelf life, but once mixed with water, the storage period generally does not exceed 15 days, so they should be refrigerated. Suppositories can soften at high temperatures, making them inconvenient to use. They can be stored in the refrigerator or placed in the refrigerator before use to harden before taking them out, such as fever-reducing suppositories.
The chemical reaction of medicines accelerates as the temperature rises. For every 10-degree increase in temperature, the speed of chemical reactions can increase by 2-4 times. Therefore, the storage location for medicines should be the coolest and driest place in the house, avoiding exposure to heat and sunlight. Medicines should not be frozen. Before using any medicine, please carefully read the package insert to understand the dosage, usage, and storage methods.
Regularly (generally every 3-6 months) check whether the medicines have expired or have deteriorated. If you find that a medicine has passed its expiration date, has changed color, become loose, deliquescent, or has spots; if capsules are sticky or cracked; if pills have insects or mold; if syrups or thick herbal decoctions are moldy or fermented; if liquid medicines are cloudy or have precipitated; or if eye drops are cloudy and have flocculent substances, they should be promptly disposed of and replaced.