Oct. 28 is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. To help raise awareness of prescription drug safety, the Oswego County Health Department hosts the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) for Oswego County residents in November through December.

CDSMP is a free, interactive workshop led by a trainer and peers. The program is a six-week series, with each session lasting approximately two and a half hours. Participants will learn daily skills to manage ongoing health conditions to live a healthy and more fulfilling lifestyle.

“This program is for anyone who has a chronic disease or is caring for someone with a chronic disease,” said Oswego County Associate Public Health Educator Diane Oldenburg. “One of the many topics we cover for chronic disease management is how to track, organize and store medications safely.”

The first CDSMP session will start on Wednesday, Nov. 1 and continue every Wednesday until the last class on Dec. 13. The class will not be held on Nov. 15 and Nov. 22. 

Each workshop will be from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Oswego County Health Department located at 70 Bunner St., Oswego. Free parking is available at entrance B.

Any substance can be poisonous if it is used by the wrong person, in the wrong way or in the wrong amount. According to the Absentee Shawnee Tribal Health System, 95% of medication-related poisoning visits to emergency departments are caused by a child ingesting medication while unsupervised.

“Your medicine is for you,” said Oldenburg. “What’s safe for you might be harmful for someone else. That’s why it’s important to keep track of what prescription medications are in your home, how to dispose of them safely and never take or give a medication that is prescribed for someone else.” 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that there is no guarantee that medicine will be safe and effective to use past the expiration date.

The FDA advises the following steps to properly dispose of prescription medications:

Mix medicines with an inedible substance such as dirt, kitty litter or used coffee grounds. Do not crush tablets or capsules.

Place the mixture in a sealable container, such as a plastic bag.

Throw the container in your household trash.

Scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of your empty pill packaging before throwing it out. 

Only certain medications can be disposed of by flushing them down the sink or toilet. To see if your medication is flushable, check the prescription label for disposal directions or visit https://www.fda.gov/drugs/safe-disposal-medicines/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know for the list of flushable medications. 

For poisoning questions or emergencies, call the Upstate New York Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.

To register for the November/December CDSMP workshops, call NY Connects at 315-349-8697. To learn more about upcoming CDSMP workshops, call Sonia Robinson at 315-349-3573 or visit https://health.oswegocounty.com/. 

Photo by: SHVETS Production via: Pexels