Get the Offline ArchiveFree lifetime updates

Home Medicine Cabinets

3 min read

Abandoned homes hold small but varied medicine stocks at far lower risk than pharmacies, mostly pain relievers, antihistamines, cold remedies, leftover prescriptions and the long-term medicines of whoever lived there. Check bathroom cabinets, bedside tables, kitchen drawers, handbags and vehicles, and take only containers whose labels you can read, since a leftover prescription is labelled for one person and one condition.

Part of Where to Find Medications

Each abandoned home holds a little, from pain relievers to leftover antibiotics, and the label is the only thing that makes any of it usable.

Many Small Finds Add Up At Low Risk

Every home had medicine in it. Per location the quantity is small, but the risk of entering is much lower than at a pharmacy; many homes together can add up. This applies to abandoned or damaged homes. Occupied homes are not salvage targets.

Typical Finds

  • Over-the-counter pain relievers. Ibuprofen, acetaminophen (paracetamol) and aspirin.
  • Antihistamines. Diphenhydramine, cetirizine and loratadine.
  • Cold and flu medications. Often useful, but many are combination products containing several active ingredients.
  • Leftover prescription antibiotics. People rarely finish a course. A partial bottle is a partial course, and the label names the original patient and the original condition.
  • Chronic-disease medicines. Blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, thyroid and psychiatric drugs, which are valuable to anyone who already takes them.
  • Topical antibiotics and antacids. Low-risk, low-value items.

Where To Look

Bathroom cabinets, bedroom nightstands, kitchen drawers, handbags and vehicles (glove compartments and centre consoles). The homes of elderly residents typically have the largest and most varied collections.

Method: Read Before You Keep

Step 1: Read the label. Drug name, strength, quantity, date and the patient’s name. If any are unreadable, leave it.

Step 2: Check combination products. Read every active ingredient on cold and flu products. Taking one alongside a plain pain reliever can double up the same ingredient without your noticing.

Step 3: Check for mixed containers. Pill organisers and bottles holding tablets that do not match the label turn up in homes and cannot be identified.

Step 4: Keep the original container. Do not decant. See Repackaging & Desiccants.

Common Mistakes

  • Trusting the label on a re-used bottle. People reuse bottles; the contents may not match.
  • Assuming a leftover antibiotic fits your illness. It was prescribed for a different person with a different infection.
  • Storing the find in the same bathroom. Bathrooms are the worst place to keep medicine; see Optimal Storage Conditions.

Safety

Combination products and re-used bottles cause silent overdoses

Acetaminophen is a hidden ingredient in many cold, flu and pain products. An overdose gives no clear warning for a day and can then cause fatal liver damage. Read every ingredient, never assume, and do not take or give a medicine from an unlabelled or mismatched container.

What’s Next