Numbers don’t lie: 10.1 million people aged 12 and older have reported to have misused opioids in 2019. Out of this figure, 9.7 million people were reported to have misused prescription drugs for pain relief while 745,000 used illegal drugs like heroin. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly half a million people in the United States died from opioid overdose in the past two decades. If these numbers are not alarming enough, children are caught in the fray as more than 50% of young adults who have at one-point misused prescription opioids had access to these medicines from either a friend or family member.
Indeed, the opioid epidemic presents one of the most challenging situations for American families today. Consequently, it’s also one of the most compelling reasons for adults to properly store prescription drugs in a medicine pouch kit – specifically, a medicine pouch with lock. If that’s not enough to convince you to lock up your meds in a safe and secure container, here are some of the top reasons why you’ll most definitely need a medicine pouch with lock:
- Help prevent drug abuse among the youth. – Restricting access to prescription drugs by storing it in a locking medicine pouch helps prevent drug abuse especially when there are children or teenagers in the house. Even when you’re not taking opioids, even over-the-counter medications for the common cold can still be used by young adults and teenagers to get high. More than 50% of over-the-counter cough and cold medicine contain dextromethorphan (DXM) – which may be less potent than opioids but may be dangerous if taken excessively. Other non-opioid drugs such as medical cannabis or cannabis-mixed edibles can still have a negative impact on children. Even seemingly harmless vitamins and the innocent-looking aspirin can have harmful side effects when taken excessively.
- You can bring your meds as you travel. – A medicine pouch kit also allows you to conveniently bring your prescription drugs even as you travel which is perfect for those undergoing pain management medication. Pain can sometimes strike in the most unexpected moments and access to pain medications through a handy medicine pouch kit can literally save lives. People who carelessly store their medicines in the bathroom drawer or their bedside tables often miss the required times in a day they need to take it and those days often don’t end well. To stop this from happening, bring a portable medicine pouch kit whenever you travel so you have access to your medicines even when you’re on the go.
- Prevent damage to your medicine. – It’s important to know that heat, air, light and exposure to excessive moisture can damage the quality of your medicine. Prescription drugs are best stored in a cool, dry place or in a medicine pouch kit which is specially designed to keep your meds safe from being spoiled by the harsh forces of the environment. Also, remember that expired or spoiled medical products can be less effective in treating your condition. In some cases, it can even be risky due to undue changes in chemical composition. For example, aspirin pills can sometimes break down into vinegar or salicylic acid which can be irritating to the stomach. Some medications exposed to outside air for too long are even vulnerable to bacterial growth that can both fail to treat infections or worse, lead to more serious illnesses.
- Ease of access in times of emergencies. – In case of emergencies, people tend to panic and scour everywhere to find the right medication and ease unbearable pain, stop seizures or prevent a heart attack. In cases like these, a medicine pouch kit allows you to store all emergency medicine in one place. By doing this, you consciously condition yourself to look for one specific item – very much like a first aid kit – when a medical emergency strikes. In addition, you can also store routine medicines such as over-the-counter medications for minor ailments, allergy medicines, and other essential stuff such as ibuprofen, an insect repellant or even a bottle of sunscreen.
- You can also use it as a first aid kit. – An important alternative use of medicine pouch kits is that it can also be used as a first aid kit. In addition to prescription drugs and other addictive substances, some medicine pouch kits are actually large enough to function as a proper first aid kit. It can store routine materials for minor trauma, blisters or skin care needs while also allowing other items to fit in such as gloves, masks, eye protection and even a roller gauze and compression bandages.
- Storage space for other items of value. – Another interesting aspect of medicine storage kits is that it allows enough room for other items of value to be stored in a container you won’t usually forget. Most medicine pouch kits nowadays are sizeable enough to be conspicuous, spacious enough to allow for additional storage room, but still small enough to be relatively portable and easy to carry. This is perfect for individuals who often find themselves forgetting valuable items such as cash, keys or credit cards. Having a medicine pouch with lock not only allows you to safely store your prescription medicine, but also keep yourself from losing important day-to-day items, valuable personal belongings or even small trinkets with sentimental value.
There are countless other reasons why you should purchase your own locking medicine pouch, and these five items are just the tip of the iceberg. But needless to say, buying your own medicine pouch with lock is not a simple matter of want nor does it imply an unnecessary purchase you’ll soon regret afterwards, but it’s actually more of an issue of necessity. Helping stop the opioid epidemic is compelling enough reason which will benefit not just you or your family, but others as well. If your concern is about pricing, there’s actually a wide array of options for an affordable medicine pouch kit which surely won’t hurt your budget.