Pharmacists say unwanted prescription drugs can be dangerous, even fatal

Pharmacists at Brawley Pioneers Memorial Hospital said that recently two toddlers died in Philadelphia because they took or came in contact with expired prescription drugs.

PMH Pharmacy Director John Paul Teague said, “The toddler had visited a grand-parent at a nursing home, and somehow, they were playing on the ground, the patches are clear. One swallowed, obviously, and the other one was attached to their skin. Even though those drugs are expired in those patches, they still have active ingredients. And it was powerful enough to end these toddlers’ lives.”

Misuse of dosage can cause injury.

PHM Pharmacist Liz Beth Reyes said, “At higher dosage, it can actually kill somebody.”

People should not throw drugs in the trash.

“The danger of putting them in the trash can is it doesn’t make those medications physically and chemically irretrievable and unrecognizable,” Teague said.

Or flush them in the toilet.

“This can go to our streams, which cannot be filtered out, and go affect our water, our environment, our animals,” Reyes said.

People can dispose of their unwanted drugs safely and free of charge at 4 locations on Saturday, April 29th from 10 a.m. thru 2 p.m.: Vons in El Centro and Brawley, El Centro Border Patrol Sector and Food 4 Less in Calexico.