Expedited Valium at home? Drug regulator now listed 17 unused medicines to flush
Half the strip used in your medicine cabinet is not just chaos, it can be fatal. India’s top drug regulator has warned that expired drugs can be made fatal if they can be taken by someone for whom they were not. This is not just a health advice by CDSCO, it is an essential call for action
In short
- This list of 17 drugs pose an immediate and direct threat when it is accidentally swallowed.
- The public should be made aware that these are not only finished drugs – they are poison
- For drugs not on “flush list”, take them to a drug tech-back-center
In a recently released guideline, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) released a list of 17 drugs, which should be abolished, if they are finished, unused, or unwanted (see attachment D). These include phentenne, tramdol and diazepam which are strong (powerful) drugs with possible fatal consequences in the wrong hands.
A pharmacologist and professor at the Medical College, Mumbai. “The list of drugs can also be fatal in the same dose, when the list of drugs can be fatal by children, pets, or even immunocomized adults,” says Dhirj Menon.
“Keeping them lying in a house is like storing a loaded weapon on the coffee table,” he said.
Expedited diazepam is fatal
Among the drugs listed, diazepam, a drug that is usually prescribed for the treatment of anxiety, muscle cramps and seizures, is considered worrying when it is particularly eliminated or unused. A benzodiazepine, this drug, does not break completely quickly after expiration. Diazepam has the ability to maintain its sedative power, leading to a silent threat even after many years.
“There is a myth that the expired drugs have become ineffective now. But it is not the case with some medicines,” a brain surgeon out of Bengaluru. Riya informs Sadana. “Diazepam, even when the drug becomes slightly low, can still slow the brain activity. This can cause unconsciousness, respiratory depression, or even death misuse.”
Experts lie on the side effects of this anti -anxiety pill in the form of sad breathing and heart rate. They believe, if children, pets, or anyone were not addicted to them, these drugs have the ability to give rise to serious health results.
Dr. Sadana says, “A very small dose or even a single expired tablet was thrown into a nonsense bin.” A pediatric emergency advisor at a hospital in Delhi. Vikas Goyal warned, “There have been many cases globally, where Toddlers consumed only an old tablet and slipped into a coma.”
It is medically proved that the finished diazepam can cause calm and enthusiastic effects. This creates a possible general goal for entertaining misuse, especially by adolescents or people struggling with drugs. The expired diazepam can be shown unevenly low, which increases the chances of overdose (especially when mixed with alcohol or other sedative).
The second issue is that diazepam may be low in unknown or unstable compounds. These can cause unexpected side effects, or dangerously interact with other drugs, especially antidepressant or sleep AIDS.
Dr. Goyal believes that the time limit of benzodiazepine is expired, if chemically replaced, there may be effects that we do not fully understand.
Why flushing is the right call
Environmentalists often advise against flushing drugs, and with good causes: Pharmaceuticals in water systems can damage ecosystems and contribute to antibiotic resistance. But CDSCO creates an exception to these 17 high-risk drugs because they pose at home due to immediate and direct threat.
“For this specific list, flushing is the safest immediate option,” Dr. Menon says. “The public should be made aware that these are not only finished drugs – they are potential poison.”
Not on the “flush list” for all other drugs, CDSCO has a distinct recommendation that is more environmentally sound approach. It comes in response to increasing concern over drug pollution in the rivers and soil of India.
In 2018, in the Yamuna River and in the bore wells of Delhi, some drug residues were found to be dangerous levels. The drugs detected were antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and even psychopathic medicines-suggesting that people are releasing old medicines in domestic rubbish compartments or drains, which are contaminating water supply and contributing to bacteria that are antibiotic.
CDSCO has advocated the launch of a state-level ‘drug tech-back’ program in partnership with local chemist associations and waste management services to address the issue.
What should you do today
Do this immediately if you have expired or unused diazepam, phentinel, tramdol, or other medicines listed on the flush list of CDSCO, then do this immediately.
How to flush the drugs down:
Leave the expired tablet or capsule in the toilet (do not crush it).
Flush immediately.
After doing what is necessary, wash your hands properly.
For other non-listed drugs:
Remember that these are not flush.
Make sure you store these expired tablets in a seal container.
When available, leave them on an approved take-back site.
