Preventing medicine poisoning and overdose in Seeley Lake

Did you know that every minute of every day, a poison control center receives a call about a potential medicine poisoning for a child age five and under? And in around 86 percent of emergency department visits for medicine poisoning, the child got into medicine belonging to a parent or grandparents.

Whether you're a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or caregiver, you can help prevent medicine poisonings by properly disposing of your unused or expired medications before they get in the hands of a young child. In addition, unused or expired medicines have the potential to be stolen and misused by teens and adults, so proper prescription medication disposal can also help reduce substance abuse and overdose.

On National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 26, members of the Missoula Prescription Drug Task Force, a group facilitated by the Missoula City-County Health Department, would like to encourage you to reflect on ways you can safely dispose of your unused or expired medications. They also want to remind you that most medications should not be flushed down the toilet, nor thrown away in the trash.

Here are some ways you can dispose of your medications safely:

• Take advantage of our local Prescription Drug Take-Back in conjunction with the National Drug Take-Back Day Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Griz game in the parking lot near the stadium entrance from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (pills in bottle accepted, no liquids, syringes, or inhalers).

• Take your medications to a local prescription drug drop box. In Seeley Lake, there is one at the Seeley Swan Pharmacy at 3027 Highway 83. For a complete list of other drop boxes around Montana, visit https://dphhs.mt.gov/amdd/substanceabuse/dropboxlocations.

• Mix the medicine (do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance, like kitty litter or coffee grounds or use a prescription drug disposal bag. Find out about other safe ways to dispose of your unused medications at home at https://bemedwise.org/medication-safety/drug-storage-and-disposal.

To find out more about how you can help prevent prescription medication misuse, poisoning and overdose in your community, contact Leah Fitch-Brody at lfitch@missoulacounty.us or go to http://www.missoulacounty.us/sap and click on the Missoula Prescription Drug (Rx) Task Force button.

Leah Fitch-Brody is a Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator for Missoula City-County Health Department. She can be reached at lfitch@missoulacounty.us or call 406-258-3881.