store in a DRY place -- storage of pills in rainy season

June 30, 2008 3:12 PM

What is the best way to store pills when one is faced with 90-90% humidity everyday because of rainy season?

It's the middle of the rainy season right now in Japan, and that means I'm facing 90-90% humidity nearly everyday. That's so bad that when I get home in the evening, the morning newspaper feels damp to the touch. I never really considered my pills, but I was reading a newsletter from the city yesterday about how to avoid food-poisoning in the rainy season (very common due to the increased humidity and thus increased mold) and suddenly it hit me... oh, store in a cool, DRY place. I'm mainly talking about vitamins and headache pills here (advil and aspirin)

posted by dbooster to health & fitness (9 comments total)

Refrigerator. Cools and reduces humidity by design.

And I hear you on the Japanese summer humidity. "Stunning" is a word that comes to mind.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:16 PM on June 30, 2008

Don't the pills come with dessicants in the bottle?

If not, you could just drop in one of the dessicants from one of the hundred million food items there that come with them.
posted by aubilenon at 3:27 PM on June 30, 2008

Also, buy desiccant packets. They're fairly cheap, I bought a pack for 100 for around ~$7 last month.
posted by wongcorgi at 3:28 PM on June 30, 2008

Ziplock bags.
posted by geoff. at 4:01 PM on June 30, 2008

buy desiccant packets

Uncle Ben's Converted Rice works that way. If you put a jar of anything inside a larger jar of that kooky rice, it will stay drier.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:09 PM on June 30, 2008

Salt will act as a desiccant. I'm not sure rice will be as effective - I know they put it in salt shakers, but really all it does is bounce around and break up the salt chunks instead of drawing in moisture.

Anyway, if you find a good desiccant be sure to also get an airtight container, as you would ideally like to seal everything up and then have the desiccant remove all the humidity from the container. Otherwise, as it adsorbs moisture more will be drawn in to the container, ultimately rendering the desiccant saturated.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:33 PM on June 30, 2008

Seconding the fridge. I use that method here in New Orleans, and I'll put our humidity up against anyone's.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 1:13 AM on July 1, 2008

If you remove pill bottles from the fridge, as soon as you open them, a bunch of moisture will condense on the inside of the bottle and the surfaces of the pills. I'd go with dessicant, and an airtight container. Renew your dessicant periodically in the oven if you need to.
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:15 AM on July 1, 2008

Or leave the pill bottles open when you return them to the fridge.
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:15 AM on July 1, 2008