Over-the-counter and prescription medicines can assist with everyday sicknesses such as a headache, the common cold and even much bigger diseases such as cancer. Most keep all these items in a medicine cabinet somewhere in their homes, usually in a bathroom, which makes it highly accessible to those who shouldn’t have access to it. Often times, people forget how dangerous medicine can be if taken in excess or when it’s not needed at all.
For young children, the bathroom can be your home’s most hazardous area—especially once they’re able to move and climb onto a chair to explore its shelves. This makes it easy for children to get into the medicine cabinet and try to reenact what they see when their parents take their medications. Children under the age of 13 account for over 50 percent of all poison exposures in the United States.
Over the past several years, the abuse of over-the-counter and prescription drugs has skyrocketed! From teenagers looking to sell prescription drugs or for a “high” among patients who have become addicted to painkillers, it has become a very serious issue. Keeping track of your medicine cabinet is a task that many never think about, but it can be easy to do and it’s more important now than ever that we do so.
Anyone entering your home – friend, relative or housekeeper – can easily find and take your over-the-counter and prescription drugs. While it might seem surprising to some, stealing prescription pills from a home is quite common. No one wants to be suspicious of their loved ones, but many unlikely people today are addicted to prescription drugs, and will go to great lengths to get their hands on them.
One of the best ways to keep track of your medicine cabinet is by installing a Contact Sensor on its door. This allows you to get a notification directly on your phone anytime your medicine cabinet’s door is opened. In addition, with the technology from our partners at Alarm.com, you can set up a “no-show” reminder that alerts you if you have not opened the medicine cabinet by a certain time of day. If you have a loved one living with you, a contact sensor on their medicine cabinet is a non-intrusive way to ensure they’re taking their medications, without having to ask.
Contact Sensors are available as part of a smart home security system that makes your home safer, smarter and more convenient. Interested in a smart home alarm system? Fill out the form or give us a call at 702-737-8464 and one of our Sting Alarm Security Professionals will be with you.
