With another Israeli heat wave approaching, the article warns that many people casually leave medicines, creams and pills in places that can damage them, such as cars, bathrooms or sunny windowsills. According to Hagit Mesad, a clinical pharmacist with Clalit in the Haifa and Western Galilee district, improper storage can reduce a medicine’s effectiveness and, in some cases, make it unsafe to use.
The basic advice is to keep medicines in their original packaging, which protects them from air and sunlight and helps users check the name, expiration date and storage instructions. The recommended storage place is a closed, dry, high cabinet at up to 25 degrees Celsius. Bathrooms are too hot and humid, and windowsills or areas near ovens and stoves are also unsuitable.
Not every medicine belongs in the refrigerator, so the package directions must be read carefully. Only products marked for cooling should be kept there, usually at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. Medicines should not be stored in the fridge door or frozen. The article gives Acamol syrup as an example of a product that should not be refrigerated, even though many parents do so by habit.
Medicines should never be left in a car during the Israeli summer, where temperatures inside a closed vehicle can reach 70 to 80 degrees Celsius or more. If a medicine was left in a car for hours, the recommendation is not to use it and to consult a pharmacist about replacing it. For flights abroad, medicines should be kept in carry-on luggage rather than checked in the aircraft hold, to avoid loss and temperature damage. The same caution applies to cosmetics, makeup, creams and sunscreen, which can change in texture, color or smell and lose effectiveness in the heat. The article says a quick check at home and in the car can prevent vital products from failing when needed, and advises asking a pharmacist if in doubt.
