Doctor K: Don’t flush drugs down the drain

DEAR DOCTOR K: I’ve heard that when people don’t properly dispose of their medications, they make their way into the drinking water. Should I be worried?

DEAR READER: The water that flows through our faucets is generally clean and safe. But there is increasing concern about chemicals from unused medications making their way into our drinking water.

Drugs can get into the water in a variety of ways. Many people flush unused or expired drugs down the toilet or pour them down the drain. Some nursing homes and hospitals do the same.

Sewage treatment plants and water treatment facilities are not designed to remove pharmaceuticals from water. As a result, some pharmaceutical pollution does wind up in the water we drink.

The drugs we pour down the drain, however, could be affecting fish. For example, water sources polluted with estrogen and estrogen-like chemicals (from birth control pills and hormone treatments) contain more fish who have both male and female characteristics – when they should have only one or the other. The impact of this on fish breeding is unclear.

New guidelines encourage responsible drug disposal for hospitals and nursing homes. And we can do our part as well:

• Limit bulk purchases. Big bottles of expired pills are more likely to end up in the water.

• Do not flush unused medicines or pour them down the drain. This is the most basic thing that we all can, and should, do.

Instead, throw medications into the trash. Medications disposed of this way are incinerated or buried in landfills. This isn’t ideal, but it’s preferable to flushing or pouring them down the drain.

• Better yet, use drug take-back programs. These programs allow you to drop off unused medications at specified locations in your community. Drug take-back programs are organized by state and local governments and also by private institutions, including pharmacy chains.