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FYI Topic -- Expired Medication & Makeup



Keep or toss expired medication?  When to toss your makeup?
How to dispose of your medicine properly.

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Keep or Toss Expired Medication?
Expiration dates may not necessarily mean that you need to toss it.  Check out this article from the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide to see more details, but here are a few rules of thumb:
  • If your life depends on it, toss expired medication
  • It it has changed color, consistency or odor, toss it regardless of expiration
  • Store medication in a cool, dry environment (your bathroom medicine cabinet is rarely a good place)
When to Toss Makeup?
The goal is to prevent infection, like pink eye or skin breakouts.  Check out this article from CBS News to see more details, but here are a few rules of thumb:
  • If you haven't used it in several years
  • Mascara, 3 months (and don't pump the wand)
  • Foundation, 6 months
  • Lip gloss & lipstick, 1 year
  • Eye/lip pencils, 1 year (sharpen them often)
  • Pressed powder, eye-shadows, blush, 1 year
  • If it has changed color, texture, consistency or odor
Disposing of Your Medicine Properly
  • Do NOT flush your expired or unused medication down the toilet unless specifically instructed to do so by the drug label or patient information provided.  Only a small number of drugs carry instructions for flushing.
  • Most drugs can be thrown in the household trash, but make sure that it is less appealing to children & pets.  Place the medication to be thrown away in a leak proof container such as a sealable bag or empty laundry detergent bottle.  Add coffee grounds or used kitty litter, seal and toss.
  • Any labels on the empty prescription bottles should be removed to protect your identity and information; the bottles can then be recycled or thrown away.  (Note:  Though these bottles might come in handy someday, how many do you really need?  Maybe just 2 or 3, not every single one, so don't save these for a someday maybe reason.)
  • Call your pharmacist for more information if needed.
  • And some states, like California, Colorado, Ohio and Washington have community drug take-back programs in certain places to collect and dispose unused medications.  Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Carolina and others do not.  Click The Drug Take-Back Network to check out events and & programs in your area.
A handout on how to dispose of unused medicine from the FDA.