Rasa Kalėdaitė, PhD Qualified Person and Head of the Norameda Quality Division, wants to draw attention to medicine storage at home, especially in summer.
Medicines and medical devices used at home can be stored in two different temperature regimes: room temperature – +15 to +25 °C or cold storage – +2 to +8 °C. The products must be kept from direct sunlight or light and away from moisture (a bathroom cabinet is not a suitable storage place). And be sure to keep out of the reach of children.
Medicines, medical products, and food supplements are usually stored at room temperature. Therefore, we need to check the temperature conditions in our homes in summer. If the temperature exceeds 25 °C in your usual storage area, move to a cooler room or, in hot weather, medical products can be placed in the fridge. Just do not store them on shelves where the temperature is near zero – medical products must not be frozen. Choose for the storage a shelf with a temperature of at least +2 °C.
Food should not be stored with medicines, medical supplies or supplements on the same shelf. By storing medical products, it would be best to leave gaps between packages to allow cool air to circulate. Refrigerated storage may cause the cartons to become damp and slightly change their appearance.
Also, please consider child safety so that children do not have easy access to them.
However, if you have not moved your stock of medicines to the fridge on a few hot days, you should be alarmed. All medicines are subject to stability tests at temperatures above 25 °C, and a short-term temperature variation will not affect their quality.
Return the medicines to their regular storage place when the heat subsides.