"When we think about drugs that we want to get out of our medicine cabinets, the reality is that the answer should probably be most drugs that have 4outlived their original indication."
Dr. Holly Geyer with Mayo Clinic says it can be dangerous for medications to be used differently from how they were prescribed.
"It is best to get these drugs out of the house unless you have specific reasons by your provider to keep them in the house when you're done with them."
But Geyer says there are five groups of prescription medications you should never leave unused in your home.
5Opioids top the list. Last year, this drug was linked to more than 81,000 6overdose deaths in the U.S., according to CDC provisional data. Next, Geyer says certain 7anti-anxiety medications.
"These are ones like 8lorazepam or 9alprazolam. As drug class, they can be toxic, especially when combined with other drugs that can be 10sedating."
Third, certain sleeping medications should be 11discarded or 12locked up when they're no longer needed. Fourth, 13muscle relaxers. If used with other 14substances, these can increase overdose risk. Finally, Geyer says unused cough medications should also be discarded.
"We've recognized something called "robotripping" in that teenage population if there's 15dextromethorphan in the drug. So cough medicines can be toxic even if you purchase them 16over the counter; get them out if you no longer need them."
