The worst place to store your medication

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You’d be forgiven for thinking the best place for your medication is well, the medicine cabinet in your bathroom. But it turns out turns out that’s probably the worst possible location you could be using to store both prescription and non-prescription items.

Think about your bathroom for a second. It gets steamy, it gets hot, and often it has very little airflow. It’s subjected to extreme temperature and humidity changes and is often filled with tonnes of artificial light.

There, right smack bang in the middle of it all, are your vitamins and medicines. Not only is keeping your medications in your bathroom bad for the makeup and stability of the medication itself, it could also be damaging to your health.

Dr Sam Hay, director of a Sydney medical practice and medical consultant on Channel 10’s The Project says that the effectiveness of our medicines can actually be reduced by storing them in your bathroom.

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“We want our medications to be stored above zero degrees and below 25 degrees. Both the bathroom and the kitchen suffer from temperature and humidity extremes due to cooking and showers and this is not great for medicines.”

So where exactly should we be keeping our medications?

"Ideally you want a cool, dark place with consistent temperatures. That's really the key. Places like the linen press or the bedroom are good. Of course you also need to look at safety, little hands being able to reach the items," explains Dr Hay.

So if you have been committing this medicine faux pas, it might be time to rethink your options. Instead, dedicate a drawer of your tallboy to keeping your medications safe, or invest in a lockable system in a suitable location if you have small children to consider. On the upside though, there is now more room for makeup and cosmetics in the bathroom. Hooray!

Where do you store your medication?

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BreadKATIE THOMSITT, Dieticians Australia spokesperson says: "Lots of people shy away from bread to achieve weight loss. But bread is such an important source of fibre, and plays such a helpful role in weight loss and preventing bowel cancer. A couple of slices of a dark, seedy bread per day is absolutely fine."

CheeseKATIE SAYS: "Cheese is definitely a higher fat source of dairy, but still a good dairy fat. Choose low-fat options if you have it regularly, otherwise consume it in moderation. One serve of dairy is 30g, so a couple of slices is absolutely fine."

ChocolateKARA LANDAU, The Travelling Dietician says: "Studies have been able to show that dark chocolate can improve insulin sensitivity, reduce blood pressure in healthy individuals, protect against heart disease, and improve HDL good cholesterol (not a bad start for such a tasty food!). Dark chocolate also contains polyphenols, whilst white chocolate does not. These polyphenolic compounds are able to relax blood vessels allowing for better blood circulation, and thereby assisting with the maintenance of healthy blood pressure levels."

CoffeeKATIE SAYS: "Coffee is a really good snack, in particular if its milk-based to get the dairy in - for example, a skim latte. As long as its in moderation - daily guidelines say a maximum of three per day! And you want lots of water on top of that."

EggsKARA SAYS: "Yes, even the yolks are good for you! Healthy fat soluble vitamins, as well as half the protein found in an egg, are all found in the yolk!"

Avocado KATIE SAYS: "Avocado is a healthy fat. Lots of people think its high-fat and not good for you, but its rich in mono unsaturated fats, which give you protection against heart disease. It also helps with controlling lower cholesterol levels."

nutsKATIE SAYS: "Nuts fall into the same category as avocado - they have lots of healthy oils and fibre."

dairyKARA SAYS: "Often milk and yoghurts are fortified with Vitamin D (a fat soluble vitamin) which requires a small amount of fat to be present in order for the body to absorb it, therefore having the full fat variety can be of value to enhance the nutritional benefits from the products' consumption. The fat in the dairy also aids with satiety, which could prevent unhealthy snacking at a later point in the day."

PotatoKATIE SAYS: "Potato always gets a bad rap as a starchy vegetable, but it's an excellent source of fibre. Sweet potato in particular is great for weight management and sugar level control. Potatoes are also really rich in potassium."

Red meatKARA SAYS: People tend to restrict red meat unnecessarily, thinking that its high in saturated fat. "But lean red meat is high in protein, CLA (which has been found to be associated with lower body fat percentages), B12, iron and zinc. These are all nutrients we want to get into our body!"

Dr Sam Hay is a director of a Sydney GP practice and a medical consultant on The Project and Embarrassing Bodies Down Under.

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Why you should never store your medicine in your bathroom.

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