Bottle it Up!

My husband and I recently attended a fire safety seminar conducted by our community fire department. The purpose of the seminar was to review and inform the audience of such fire safety issues as establishing at least two methods of exit from your residence in case of a fire, being careful about placing potholders and cloths near stove burners, not wearing garments with long, flowing sleeves while cooking and many other fire safety tips. Much of the information was a review. Pointers were given on how to prepare an emergency preparedness kit for use in a medical or weather emergency.

An intriguing and very sensible idea that was presented during the seminar was to store your medication and emergency contact list in a pill bottle and then place the bottle in the back of your refrigerator freezer. The fire safety member explained that a national drug retailer in our community is going to partner with our fire department by providing free kits containing the pill bottle, medication and emergency contact list as well as a small colored circular decal to place on your refrigerator door to identify to first responders that your medication is in the freezer in the pill bottle. If the unfortunate situation arises that you are involved in a natural disaster or fire and are uncommunicative, the first responders would immediately go to your refrigerator freezer and retrieve your pill bottle containing your vital medical information and emergency contact list. The information could be vital in saving one's life. We think this is an excellent idea and we will implement this procedure immediately. It's easy, convenient and some communities have already adopted this procedure. So, do not discard your pill bottles. Save one for each family member, write down the necessary information on a sheet of paper, fold the sheet of paper and put it in your pill bottle and then place the bottle in the back of your freezer. The pill bottle does not take up any appreciable space and can be of great benefit one day. Remember to update your medication and emergency contact list if medication and emergency contact changes are made. For health's sake, don't bottle up your emotions but do bottle up your medical information. It may one day be a lifesaver for you or a loved one.