Expired Medications – is it dangerous to use them?

There are many people who do not think about medications having an expiration date, but the truth is, medications expire much in the same way that food expires. Many people wouldn’t consider drinking milk just one day after the expiration date, but the same people are often ignorant that their medicine cabinets contain expired drugs. What makes you think that your medication would be any different? All medications, branded and generic, have expiration dates and should be discarded when expired.

Most of us will find expired medication in a kitchen or bathroom cabinet. No difference, between the prescribed or over-the-counter medication. We keep these medications, since we only use it when we get sick or when it was prescribed. Actually expired medications are not always dangerous, but they can become weak and possibly ineffective after the expiration date. Expired medicine in pill and liquid form often changes in color and consistency. Liquids can separate and pills deteriorate over time. These changes are obvious, but sometimes medication appears to be fresh when in fact it has been compromised by time and improper storage. Taking medicine, after the expiration date, will not have the same potency, totally be ineffective or will cause more harm then good. Especially, if the medication is used for critical patients, the effect of the expired medication will not get better their health.

Besides all these facts, not everyone agrees that expired medications are unsafe. A respected source of independent information about drugs, “The Medical Letter” stated that certain medicines, stored in high humidity and other bad conditions, stayed good to use for one and half to nine years after their expiration dates. For example, Symmetrel (amantadine) and Flumadine (rimantidine), anti-viral drugs used to prevent and treat influenza, stored at 160-degree temperatures were good after the equivalent of 25 years of ordinary storage. “The Medical Letter” reports stated that many drugs stored under reasonable conditions retain 90 % of their potency for at least five years after the expiration date on the label, and sometimes much longer. No one knows for sure if expired medications are safe. Unfortunately programs which would check the actual life period of prescription drugs stored in bathrooms, kitchens, purses and cars has never been done.

So what is the truth about the expired drugs and how does a consumer know what to believe?
There are some guidelines.

• If the medication has been opened, or stored in a high temperature or high humidity environment (like your bathroom or kitchen medicine cabinet), it is better to dispose of it. Tetracycline type antibiotics and some seizure medications can cause serious toxicity if taken beyond the expiration date.
• Liquid drugs are less stable than tablet/ capsule/powder medications.
• Some medications are especially affected by age. For example, taking oral contraceptives that have expired may produce an unexpected pregnancy.
• Some drugs, such as acetylsalicylic acid, obviously disintegrate that develops an acidic smell when it is old.
• If you have a question about the safety of a particular drug, take the medication to show to your health care provider and get his advice.

With the skyrocketing drug prices, taking expired drugs may be tempting, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Moreover most of the branded drugs have their generic alternatives, they are much cheaper and could be easy obtained from generic on-line pharmacies. All that you need is to be connected to the Internet!