What this covers
Most medicines are tested for storage below 25 to 30 degrees Celsius, yet rooms, car interiors, and kiosks in Nigeria routinely exceed this. Heat, humidity, and sunlight quietly degrade medicines — sometimes making them weaker, occasionally making them harmful — so where you keep your medicines genuinely affects whether they work.
Safe-use guidance
- Store medicines in the coolest, driest spot in the home — a bedroom cupboard or drawer away from windows, not the kitchen or bathroom.
- Keep medicines in their original packs, which shield them from light and moisture, with the leaflet for reference.
- Never leave medicines in a parked car or on a sunlit shelf — car interiors can exceed 50 degrees Celsius.
- Items needing refrigeration (insulin, some eye drops, certain suspensions) need a fridge plan that survives power cuts — cool boxes or insulated bags during outages.
- Watch for spoilage signs: colour change, unusual smell, tablets crumbling or sticking together, creams separating — discard and replace if in doubt.
- Keep all medicines locked or well out of children's reach and sight.
Cautions
- Reconstituted antibiotic syrups for children have a short life and often need refrigeration — check each time.
- Heat-damaged medicines often look normal; effectiveness loss is invisible.
- Bathroom cabinets combine the worst conditions — heat plus humidity from bathing.
- Buying from roadside hawkers means the medicine has likely baked in the sun for days before reaching you.
How GoDoctor helps
GoDoctor's pharmacy partners store medicines under proper conditions until dispatch, and a pharmacist can advise exactly how to store each item you order once it arrives at your home.
Prescription medicines always require an in-app consultation with a licensed doctor first — the e-prescription then goes straight to a licensed partner pharmacy for dispensing and delivery.