DUBAI: Dubai Health Authority (DHA)’s ‘Clean Your Medicine Cabinet’ campaign has helped donate unused medicines worth half a million dirhams to different charities every month, a top official has said.
Buoyed by the overwhelming response, Dr Ali Sayed, DHA’s director of pharmaceutical services, told XPRESS that the health authority is all set to extend the reach of the campaign and create greater public awareness on the use, storage and disposal of medicines.
He said: “The aim of the campaign, launched in 2011, is two-fold: safe and effective disposal of deteriorated or expired medicines and donation of valid medications to charities.”
Health risks
He said expired medications can pose serious health risks to individuals if not discarded. “Flushing down your medication is harmful for the environment and pollutes the water and disposing of the medicines in the garbage (even if it is tightly sealed) pollutes the soil. Therefore, the best way to dispose of outdated medications is to return the medicines to a pharmacy for safe disposal.”
Currently, 16 pharmacies located in DHA primary healthcare centres and hospitals accept expired or unused medicines from the public.
Dr Sayed warned against the consumption of expired medicines saying, “Medicines have complex chemical structures. After expiry, the chemical structure changes and breaks down. This can reduce the effect of the medicine, or the medicine may become totally useless or even toxic. Bacteria and fungi can grow in expired medicines which can increase their toxicity. Liquids such as antibiotics break down faster.”
He said eyedrops should be disposed of one month after the date of opening because of the risk of bacterial or fungal growth. Similarly, expired insulin injections carry the risk of reduced potency and other harmful effects.
