How to Store Gluomni-M2 in Indian Heat and Monsoon

The pack instruction is clear. Gluomni-M2 Glimepiride and Metformin Hydrochloride Prolonged Release Tablets IP should be stored protected from light and moisture at a temperature not exceeding 30°C.

In practice that means a cool, dry, shaded shelf inside the house, such as a cupboard in an inner room. A closed drawer works well as long as it is not against an outer wall that heats up in the afternoon. Refrigeration is not required and is not advised, because taking a strip in and out of the fridge creates condensation on the foil. The medicine must be kept out of reach of children and used only as directed by the physician.

Two things damage tablets in Indian homes. The first is heat, which is a problem in summer in most of the country and in any room that catches the afternoon sun. The second is humidity, which peaks through the monsoon and stays high all year on the coast.

Metformin in a prolonged release matrix is sensitive to moisture, and damp can affect how the layer behaves. Avoid these spots:

A silica gel sachet in the medicine box helps in very damp coastal weather, but do not open the blister to add anything to it.

Gluomni-M2 comes as 10 X 10 tablets, that is ten strips of ten. Keep each strip in its carton until you start it, and keep the carton itself, because the batch number, manufacturing date, expiry date and MRP are printed there.

Push a tablet out only when you are ready to take it. Cutting a strip into single tablets and carrying them loose in a purse or pocket exposes them to sweat, warmth and pressure. If a pocket of the blister is torn, or a tablet looks chipped, discoloured, sticky or smells unusual, do not take it. Show it to your chemist or pharmacist instead.

Diabetes treatment does not pause for a wedding trip or a pilgrimage, so plan the medicine along with the tickets.

On long train journeys, keep the strip inside a small hard box so it is not crushed among clothes.

Check the expiry date printed on the carton and on the foil each time you open a new strip. Do not take a tablet after its expiry date, even if it looks fine, and do not use tablets from an old pack left over from a previous prescription that your doctor has since changed.

When you need to dispose of unused or expired tablets, do not flush them down the toilet and do not throw the loose tablets in an open bin where children, domestic staff or stray animals may reach them. The safer approach is to remove the tablets from the foil, mix them with something unpalatable such as used tea leaves in a sealed pouch, and put that in the household waste. Many hospitals and larger pharmacies also accept expired medicines for proper disposal, so ask your chemist. This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for advice from a registered medical practitioner.