How to store medicines, tips for drug preservation

Regarding how to store medicines, many families have such a problem: they want to save the medicines that they can't eat or can't use for the next time, but they often spoil before they expire. Most pharmaceutical products are susceptible to physical and chemical changes due to environmental factors, and common causes of these changes include light, moisture, and temperature.

The first principle of drug preservation is to avoid light, humidity and heat. Medicines are best stored in a dry and cool environment, such as a drawer in a dark place. Do not store in the bathroom to avoid moisture damage to the medicine.

Therefore, storing the medicine accurately according to the instructions of the instructions will undoubtedly prolong the life of the medicine.

Oral cartridges (oral discharge medications).

If the outer packaging is not damaged, the expiration date set by the original factory shall prevail.

Oral bulk medications.

After dispensing, according to the period of the dispensing medicine bag (if there is any abnormality, it should be discarded).

Commonly used Chinese medicines can be simply divided into decoction pieces and proprietary Chinese medicines. Decoction pieces are often referred to as "herbs", such as ginseng, gastrodia, cordyceps, bird's nest and so on. These precious herbs are sold in hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets, etc., and we must pay attention to the storage of the herbs no matter where we buy them from.

Household medicines are mainly stored to avoid mildew and insect moth, and general medicines are suitable for storage in a cool, dry and dark place. If you can't finish your precious medicine in a short period of time, it's best to divide it into portions and keep it sealed.

You can put the medicine in a cleaned glass bottle, then close the cap tightly, and use wax to turn the circle and drip it at the mouth of the bottle to seal it tightly. For example, musk, saffron and other volatile components and have a special smell, and are very afraid of cross-smelling medicines, after sealing, and then put in the refrigerator to refrigerate, it will not disperse the smell, and this preservation can also play a role in preventing insects. For insect-eaten medicines such as deer antler velvet, you can use a small amount of peppercorns of the year to put it together, which is very effective.

<> "Tips for Drug Preservation.

Tip 1: Discard the desiccant immediately after opening the bottle.

The expiration date marked on the drug packaging refers to the shelf life of the drug in the unopened state, and once the sealed package is opened, the use period of the drug will be significantly shortened. The basic principle of preserving medicines is to seal and protect from light. Medicines should be avoided in direct sunlight, let alone in cars.

In the principle of preserving medicines, keeping them dry is a very important link.

Some medicines have cotton balls or desiccant in the packaging, and they should be discarded after opening, otherwise they will absorb water vapor and make the drug more likely to deteriorate. Nowadays, the packaging of many medicines has been improved, and there is no desiccant, and care should be taken to keep them dry when storing these medicines.

Tip 2: Use up the medicine in small sachets as soon as possible.

Sometimes we will retrieve the medicines from the hospital or clinic that are divided into small paper bags, most of these medicines are separated from large packages, usually 3-7 days of consumption, if stored in paper bags, they should be taken as soon as possible. If it is not used up, it is cured or the medication is adjusted, and it is generally recommended to discard it. If the drug is more expensive, it can be stored in a small glass bottle with good sealing, and it is also necessary to put a label on the bottle to indicate the name, specification and expiration date of the drug to avoid confusion.

Tip 3: Divide large bottles of medicinal vials.

If it is a large bottle of 100 tablets and the orange medicine cannot be used up quickly, a small number of tablets can be taken and placed separately in a small glass bottle with a good seal in a dark color. Take the medicine in the vial first to reduce the chance of contamination of the pills due to repeated opening of the vial. However, it is important to put a label on the new glass vial, indicating the name, specification and expiration date of the drug, and do not confuse it with other medicines.

Tip 4: "Plate" medicine to avoid moisture.

Aluminum-plastic medicine, commonly known as "plate-filled" medicine, is a capsule or tablet that is sealed in a separate plastic bubble. This packaging dries well, but some medicines only need to be taken half a tablet at a time, and the remaining half tablet changes the storage environment even if it is put back into the package. Therefore, if you don't use it for the time being and the medicine is more expensive, it is best to store it in a small dark glass bottle.

If you need to take another dose at an interval of less than 24 hours, you can put the tablet back in the plastic bubble, but care should be taken to store it away from humidity. It should also be noted that the tablets should be broken first when taking medicine, and the remaining tablets should be put away before starting to take the medicine, so as to prevent water from getting on the remaining tablets and causing the tablets to be put back in the plastic bubble from getting wet.

We generally preserve food to see the shelf life, even if it is fresh vegetables, it is not possible to leave the sedan car for a long time, the drug is the same, there is also a certain shelf life, and many drugs need to be stored at low temperature and protected from light, so some of the drugs we usually use at home should also pay attention to the preservation method. So, how to store general medicines? What are the methods of drug preservation?

1. Drug storage methods

1. Leftover medicine should not be stored unless necessary.

2 Keep medicines out of the reach of children.

3 It is best to store drugs in a classified manner, and the instructions for drugs should also be kept for reference.

4 Drugs that need to be refrigerated, such as insulin and rifampicin eye drops, should be placed in the refrigerator room, not in the freezer.

5 Medicines that need to be protected from light should be placed in an airtight brown bottle.

6. Drugs that need to be moisture-proof, such as dry yeast, vitamin B1, etc., should be placed in a closed container and the cap should be tightened after use.

7. Pay attention to the expiration date, expired drugs should be discarded in time and should never be taken.

2. Preservation methods of Chinese herbal medicines

1) Low temperature. Mold and pests are not easy to grow under the burning of 10 years, and the deterioration reaction of medicinal materials such as oil, dissolving, adhesion, odor loss, and decay is not easy to occur at low temperatures, so placing medicinal materials in a cool and dry place (such as refrigerator) is conducive to preserving its active ingredients.

2) Protect from light. Medicinal herbs such as mosaic and leafy herbs that are easy to change when exposed to light should be stored in dark places, ceramic containers, and colored glass bottles to avoid direct sunlight.

3) Classification. According to the characteristics of the medicinal materials, classified storage, such as hedgehog skin, melon wilt and other fleshy, sweet and fragrant medicinal materials are prone to insects, should be placed in the smokehouse; Yuanzhi and Banxia are prone to mildew, so attention should be paid to ventilation and sun exposure. In addition, highly toxic herbs should be labeled with eye-catching labels and kept by special personnel to prevent misuse and poisoning.

4) Sealed. Seed herbs (white lentils, malt, coix seeds, etc.), sealed and stored to prevent rats from biting; Medicinal materials that are easily weathered (such as next to the manganese salt) and volatile (borneol, etc.) can be stored in a closed manner to avoid the loss of active ingredients. When sealing, after placing the medicine in a clean glass bottle, close the cap tightly, and use wax to turn the circle and drop it at the mouth of the bottle to seal it tightly.

In addition, ceramic jars and vacuum bags are also good airtight containers.

5) Collection. Storing Sichuan pepper with fishy animal medicinal materials (deer antler, earth dragon, etc.) can prevent animal medicinal materials from being eaten and deteriorate; Put Ze Epsom and Dan Pi together, Ze Epsom is not easy to be eaten by insects, and Dan Pi is not easy to deteriorate.

6) Insecticide. Animal drugs such as mulberry crickets and dew beehives should be steamed before storage to avoid hatching of insect eggs; At the same time, chemical drugs can be used to fumigate insects, usually when a small amount of medicinal materials are preserved, sulfur can be ignited to produce sulfur dioxide fumigation, and a large number of medicinal materials can be sprayed with chloropicrin fumigation.

There are different storage methods for different surplus medicines, including the following.

1. Drugs that are easy to decompose and deteriorate in the air.

Affected by oxygen, light, temperature, humidity, microorganisms and so on in the air, for example, some drugs will decompose quickly after seeing the light, and after eating, it will be harmful to the body, and some drugs need to be stored in the refrigerator, just put them directly in the refrigerator, do not put them in other places, they are easy to deteriorate, so that the remaining drugs can be reused if they are preserved, and if the drugs deteriorate, they must be thrown away in time and can not be eaten again.

2. Leftover injections and antibacterial prescription drugs.

If this kind of drug is less than one course of treatment, it is recommended not to keep it and throw it away, because if such a drug is less than a course of treatment after injection, it will not only have no effect on the condition, but also aggravate the condition and repeat, this drug can only be used under the advice of the doctor, especially for allergies, so it is not necessary to keep it.

3. Drugs that are less than one course of treatment.

Some medicines are only effective if they are required for a course of treatment, so they don't need to be kept, and if they don't have a course of treatment, they have no effect after eating, and they have no practical use at home, so when buying this kind of medicine, just buy too much, enough for yourself to use at this stage.

4. Drugs that are not commonly used or are not well packaged.

There are many types of medicines, and there are many types of drugs that are commonly used at home, and they have to go a lot after they are commonly used, and many of them are not in good condition after opening, so there must be labels, remember what drugs are and what they are used for, if they are placed in the air and are not easy to deteriorate, they should not be kept.

Usually prepare some small injuries at home, cold and fever on the line, do not store too many medicines, the remaining medicines should also be placed in a place where children can not reach, for some small problems when needed, then buy, to avoid not being used to cause expiration, and there is no effect after eating.

Prevent deterioration of medicines. Medicines should be kept in a dry, dark and low temperature place. The closed storage should be stored in a bottle and not stored in a paper bag or carton, so as to avoid the failure of oxidative deliquescent.

Chinese patent medicines should pay more attention to packaging and storage, most of them are susceptible to moisture, and are more likely to mold and insects in summer.

Medicines should be placed in a small medicine box with them. Then place the small medicine box in a cool, dry place so that it can be stored and stored.

Be sure to pay attention to drying, need to pay attention to sealing, so that it can be better stored, and need to be placed in a relatively clean and hygienic place.

Methods of preservation of medicinal materials: cryopreservation method and burial preservation method.

1. Cryopreservation method.

Generally, valuable medicinal materials such as ginseng, bear's paw, deer antler, etc. can be used this method, and the medicinal materials can be placed in a low temperature environment below minus five degrees Celsius to kill the eggs in the medicinal materials and prevent the growth of mold, which is not a problem in households with refrigerators.

2. Burial and preservation method.

Use jars and jars and other containers with fillers such as Shisui Bi grinding ash, Sichuan pepper, grain bran, etc., wrap the medicine with double layer of clean paper and put it in the container with the filler, and then bury it with the filler cover, seal it properly and place it in a cool and dry place, so that it can prevent moths and moisture, and ensure that the medicinal materials do not deteriorate.

If preserved with lime is applicable.

Three. 7. Chinese herbal medicines such as safflower, gastrodia, cordyceps, astragalus and other Chinese medicinal materials that are easy to change color and be eaten by insects. The use of garlic and pepper preservation is suitable for seahorses, sea dragons, clams, deer antlers and other animal medicinal materials with a fishy smell, and the use of pepper and garlic can prevent and kill moths.

Methods for identifying the properties of medicinal materials

1. Shape identification.

The shape characteristics of a medicinal material are generally relatively fixed, such as cylindrical (Astragalus membranaceus, licorice), spindle-shaped (Mai Dong, Baibu), chicken claw-shaped (Coptis chinensis), fist-shaped (Chuanxiong), lumpy (Zexiao, Shengdi) and so on.

2. Color identification.

Refers to the color and brightness of the surface of the medicinal herb. The color of the medicinal materials is generally more fixed, and the change of color has a great relationship with the quality of the medicinal materials, which can reflect the authenticity and quality of the medicinal materials. Observation of color should be carried out in natural light or fluorescent lamps during the day, and the description of the color should be in front of *** and light in front, such as cinnabar for bright red or dark red shiny; Safflower is reddish-yellow or red.

3. Surface identification.

The outer or inner surface of the herb has specific characteristics that can be identified, such as smooth, rough, porous, wrinkled, etc. For example, membranous scales and root marks on monocot rhizomes and bulb nodes; The scales and hairs of ferns, the presence and degree of these characteristics, are often one of the main characteristics of identifying medicinal materials. Such as the hair of loquat leaves, the thorns of Xanthium, the scale leaves of Coptis chinensis, the cork of cork, etc.

How long can boiled Chinese medicine be stored in the refrigerator.

Hello, in the summer, it can be refrigerated in the refrigerator, or in a cool and ventilated place at home. After opening another one, it is best not to leave it for too long, it is easy to put it expired, pay attention to the care, and the nutrition should be comprehensive.

Yes, some medicines must be kept in the refrigerator, otherwise they will deteriorate, you have to choose to preserve the medicine according to the way the medicine is stored, and some cannot be stored in the refrigerator.

General medicines do not need to be refrigerated, and medicines that need to be refrigerated should be placed in the refrigerator above. It is not easy to take too long so as not to reduce the efficacy of the drug. FYI.

It's not good, the medicine has a certain expiration date, and if it expires, you can't eat it, and you can't treat the medicine like food.

Medicines that do not need to be refrigerated should not be kept in the refrigerator, as a humid environment can easily lead to drug deterioration.

The medicine is generally stored at room temperature and protected from light, and there is no need to put it in the refrigerator.