Prescription medication

[Kacey]

I was out walking my dog this afternoon, in a park near my house. Now, this park is across the street from a school, and constantly has kids of all ages in it. There are also kids' soccer games all weekend from May to October, so there is often a lot of trash around, which I pick up as I come to it, as do many of my neighbors, especially those with kids or dogs.

As I came around one end, I saw a small box sitting on a picnic table at one of end of the park that we walk around, and picked it up to throw it away. When I looked at it more closely, it was the box for an Albuterol inhaler, and I'm thinking well, maybe the person took the inhaler out of the box and forgot to throw the box away... after all, the nearest trash can was a good 3 feet away... then I looked in it, and lo and behold, an apparently unopened, unused inhaler. Both the box and the inhaler had prescription labels on them with the person's name... by now, I'm assuming that the person in question is a child. Given the usual composition of the people in the park - mostly kids - I decided to take it with me instead of just dropping it in the trash can.

When I got home, I called the grocery store pharmacy listed on the prescription label, intending to see if there was a reasonable way to get the inhaler back to the owner, or at least to let the owner know what had happened to it. When I asked what I should do with it, the pharmacy tech told me I should tie it in a bag and throw it away, or if I wanted to, I could drop it by the pharmacy; her tone suggested she didn't know why I'd bothered to call. She hung up before I could ask about contacting the person on the label - something I was hoping the pharmacy could, and would, do, as I sincerely hope that they wouldn't give out patients' phone number or other contact information.

I don't know which bothered me more - that the person (presumably child) left the thing there in the first place, or that the pharmacy tech had so little concern about it.

Now, I realize that Albuterol, while a steroid, is not a high-risk drug used for highs the way other drugs are (at least, not that I'm aware of), but the fact remains that it is a controlled substance... am I missing something here, about the behavior of those involved?

 

[Ping898]

Well if it was a kids, probably just forgot it, which isn't surprising. Sounds like you got a crap pharmacy tech too at least somewhat. Personally if I had lost the inhaler and somehow you returned the inhaler to me, I would trash it, cause I wouldn't trust that something hadn't happened to it. But if you do trash it, don't just throw it out, it is a controlled substance and if CSI is to be believed one that is used in conjunction with illegal drugs....though I have no idea if that is true, I prefer to take no chances and would either take it to a pharmacy or bring it to a docs office. I usually bring any expired meds I have to docs office and they put them in the biohazard boxes, safer for the environment and I don't have to worry about someone using what I am throwing out incorrectly.

 

[Carol]

I checked with a friend of mine who has a PharmD.

She said the pharmacy tech offered the correct instructions.

 

[BrandiJo]

i would empty it and then toss it. I dunno about how correct or incorrect the tech was but im not sure iw ould want to use meds that i had left in a park for who knows how long.
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[michaeledward]

Just a personal pet peeve of mine.

Left over perscription medication should never be released into the atmosphere or entered into the water system. There needs to be a better way of disposing of these unused chemicals. It should be obligatory that the manufacturer take back and environmentally dispose of meds.

 

[crushing]

Just a personal pet peeve of mine.

Left over perscription medication should never be released into the atmosphere or entered into the water system. There needs to be a better way of disposing of these unused chemicals. It should be obligatory that the manufacturer take back and environmentally dispose of meds.

Here is one of the many reasons:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060913/hl_hsn/prozacinstreamsendangeringmussels

 

[Kacey]

I understand the person who lost it (especially if it was a child) losing it... but I don't understand a business that doesn't want to notify it's customers when such notification is possible, if only to encourage the customer to replace the lost item. The prescription stated that the patient was to use this inhaler 3x/day, so I expect she (by the first name on the prescription) will need a replacement. I certainly would not use it either, after it's been found in a park - I wasn't suggesting that - but I don't feel comfortable just throwing a full inhaler away, either; I can't imagine that it needs to go to the landfill or get flushed down the toilet, and I don't really want to stand there and puff it out into my back yard, either.

 

[shesulsa]

I understand the person who lost it (especially if it was a child) losing it... but I don't understand a business that doesn't want to notify it's customers when such notification is possible, if only to encourage the customer to replace the lost item. The prescription stated that the patient was to use this inhaler 3x/day, so I expect she (by the first name on the prescription) will need a replacement. I certainly would not use it either, after it's been found in a park - I wasn't suggesting that - but I don't feel comfortable just throwing a full inhaler away, either; I can't imagine that it needs to go to the landfill or get flushed down the toilet, and I don't really want to stand there and puff it out into my back yard, either.

Medications found as you found this one have the potential of having been tampered with. Also, there's a sparking good chance the owner has already figured out they lost it and have either replaced the item or gone to the ER for an inhalation treatment. Given these, it's usually not the best idea to just return the item to the owner anyway. Waste of meds, yes, but safer than just returning it to someone who doesn't know if it was tampered with.

Talk to your local firehouse - some actually bring in unused meds, especially controlled substances as do some hospitals.

 

[Ceicei]

Well, if I lost my inhaler, I would simply just call my physician/pharmacy and get a replacement. If the inhaler was found again after losing it in the park, I wouldn't use it; who knows whether it was tampered before returning to me.

The pharmacy tech gave you the correct info to throw it away; however, she should have said it in a much nicer way to you. It is possible the customer may have already notified the pharmacy about the missing inhaler. Of course, the pharmacy would not tell you whether they were contacted.

- Ceicei