"Ko Lin, the doctor said I only need to take half a tablet of this medicine every day, so can I still take the remaining half of the tablet the next day?"
"Ko Lin, our child takes that primmin, the doctor said that only needs to take one quarter of the tablet a day, so can the remaining ones be used?"
We may all encounter this situation. Especially for elderly patients, many of them take half a tablet at a time. Younger children still take some medicines for one-quarter of the tablets. So can the remaining medicines be used after they are broken?
Generally speaking, we do not recommend continuing to use that half of the pill the next day. Of course, if it is within 24 hours and the pills are well preserved and not damp, you can still continue to use them. However, it is actually difficult for us to judge whether the pills are damp or not. Moreover, after the pills are broken open, there may be certain changes in nature, and some will affect the efficacy of the pills.
Also, during the process of breaking, some friends may just break it with their hands. If the breaking is not even, it actually affects the efficacy of the medicine. There are some special things to pay attention to when taking half a pill. Some medicines have an indentation in the middle, and they are broken along the indentation, which is relatively evenly. However, some pills have no indentation, and some even need to be divided into one quarter or one eighth. How to divide them? Then we recommend using special medicine distribution gadgets to divide them. If you want to continue to use the remaining half or three-quarters of the medicine that day, remember to store it properly to avoid moisture or oxidation.
Then some friends are confused. If I don’t take half of the pill, it will expire when I put it, so will I throw it away? Throw the trash can? Note that it is not recommended to throw away drugs directly. Discarded drugs may pollute the environment or cause some more serious harm. You can ask the pharmacy or designated recycling point, and the recycling will be carried out to the relevant departments for unified destruction.
In addition, I would like to remind you again here that not all medicines can be taken separately. You must follow the doctor's advice when taking the medicine and never adjust the dosage by yourself.
Today's little knowledge sharing is over here. Welcome to forward it to friends in need. Learn more about health knowledge, welcome to follow Pharmacist Lin of Zhongshan Third Hospital [see me]
