There are several reasons why people do not take care to put medications in safe locations in their home. They may rarely have small children around. They may think, “Oh, I have so few medications that there’s no way I could mix any of them up,” or “I’ve never made a mistake before.” They may think that since their meds are so low dose anyway, the occasional overdose won’t affect them.

Unfortunately, none of the reasons are good enough to leave medications out and about. Or even in a place called “the medicine cabinet.” Mistakes can be made by anyone. You never know when you’re going to be sleep deprived but determined to take the days pills – and the next day find that you’ve made a mistake. The best practice with medications is prevention.

While pill boxes are convenient and make taking multiple pills per day, sometimes at several different times per day, easier, there is some risk about taking the pills out of their bottle. Relying on pills just based on their look can be dangerous, as some pills looks similar. A safer method is to keep a checklist in the place where the medications are located (which is preferably a locked box, out of the way). This checklist can double as a list of medications you take that someone else should be aware of, in case it is needed by a doctor or paramedic.

Additionally, over-the-counter medicines should be put away after each time they are used. While it’s convenient to have the cough syrup out on the kitchen counter during a bad cold, it does pose a risk to be abused or misused.

Keeping medications in specific places, like locked boxes, high closet shelves or closed nightstand drawers reduces the risk of medication errors and keep your family and friends safe.