Storing medicines

Most medicines can be kept at room temperature (below 25°C). 

It’s good to keep your medicines somewhere convenient where you’ll remember to take them.

In Aotearoa New Zealand medicines are often kept in the kitchen or bathroom but a study found that temperature and humidity in NZ houses had the greatest extremes in kitchens and bathrooms. 

Storing medicines in these storage places shouldn’t be used long term for medicines that are sensitive to humidity and temperature.

Bedrooms had much less change in temperature and lower humidity than kitchens or bathrooms. A dresser drawer or closet shelf away from direct sunlight and heat sources is ideal for most medicines.

Where not to store your medicines 

The bathroom is not a good place to store medicine. The steam from baths and showers can damage medicines.

Kitchens can also have big changes in temperature and moisture. If you store medicines in the kitchen, choose a cabinet away from the stove, oven, sink, and windows.

Don’t store your medicines above a stove, fridge or near any appliances that heat up.

Avoid areas exposed to heat, steam, direct sunlight or at risk of extreme changes in temperature, eg, cars.

If you notice that your tablets have changed, show them to your pharmacist before using them. They may have been damaged by moisture or changing temperatures.

Some medicines need to be kept in the fridge, eg, insulin, biologics, some liquid antibiotics. Only put medicine in the fridge if the label says so.  Make sure you put it on the top shelf at the back of the fridge so that your child can't reach it.

If you leave them out by mistake, they may be less effective. Talk to your pharmacist about what to do if you’ve left a medicine that needs to be kept refrigerated outside of the fridge.

Don’t put these medicines in the freezer or in areas of the fridge that are too cold. They should be kept at a temperature between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius. Freezing these medicines can cause them to lose their effectiveness or become unstable.

If you’re travelling, keep medicines in their original, labelled packaging.  Some medicines shouldn't be stored in the cargo hold of planes because they get too cold on long-haul flights and may even freeze.

Carry them with you in your hand luggage, and ask your pharmacist about the best way to store them while you’re away.

Read more about medicines and travel.

To help manage their medicines some people find it easier to repackage their medicines into ‘pill boxes’ with compartments or have their pharmacy ‘blister pack’ their medicines or repackage them into single ‘sachets’.

Removing some medicines from their original packaging can affect how well they work, eg, dabigatran that is sensitive to high humidity.

Some medicines need to be protected from light and others shouldn’t be handled by pregnant people, eg, methotrexate.

If you’re transferring your medicines into a pill box, always check with your pharmacist to make sure they’re suitable for this.