Dispose off unused medicines - Pharmacists caution

“The symptoms may be the same but the disease may be different.”

Some pharmacists have warned against the intake of left over medicines without consultation of a health expert.

The warning comes amidst continued usage of left over medicines in many Ghanaian homes.

This happens when people do not comply with prescriptions given them and when they experience symptoms similar to what they have had before, they go back to take it.

Speaking on Joy FM's Ultimate Health programme, the pharmacists explained that this situation poses great danger to one's health.

“That's very dangerous because may be you were having a headache and they gave you this particular medicine and you may have another headache but that headache may be as a result of a tumour… not necessarily the first diagnoses and so we are discouraging self diagnosis at home,” said one of the pharmacists.”

She, however, emphasized, “The symptoms may be the same but the disease may be different.”

Mr Eddie Ampofo, Chief pharmacist of the Cocoa Clinic, also explained that it is essential that Ghanaians desist from hoarding unused medicines in their homes, hence the need to adopt a good method of disposing off drugs.

He stressed, however, that hoarding medicines in the house is a big issue because medicines accumulated at home get deteriorated even if their expiry dates are not due and if children get hold of them they can harm themselves.

“It's a big issue because you may not be aware of the kind of processes that may have started as a result of you keeping the medicines at home,” he noted.

In an attempt to safely dispose off unused medicines, there has been the introduction of a programme dubbed “DUMP” which basically means Disposal of Unused Medicines Programme running at the Cocoa Clinic and the Trust Hospital to retrieve all unused medicines from clients of the Cocoa Clinic.

By: Dorcas Efe Mensah/myjoyonline.com/Ghana