Expired Drugs

[Ben]

So somewhat off the wall -- I was taking a vitamin from my Costco bajillion pack of vitamins this morning when I noticed it was still 1/4 full and had expired back in FEB. I know the expiration dates are way conservative, but got to wondering how long drugs can last after the date. A quick Google search took me to the Harvard Medical School, which said drugs can be good 15 YEARS after the date.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update1103a.shtml

A couple of other articles stated you shouldn't use them after the expiration date, but they were just magazine writers with no stated expertise in the area. A John Hopkins article stated a couple of years is okay, but you should toss them after that. Seemed more like a conservative suggestion than fact.

Anyway, the 15 year thing was interesting to see, and will make me less likely to throw out that one year old bottle of Aspirin I'm likely to find the next time I have a headache or something.

[mtnbkr]

My Prilosec is a year out of date, but still works fine.

Chris

[K Frame]

A lot has to do with how they were stored in that year.

Keep them in the kitchen or in a bathroom, both of which tend to get humid and hot?

They're not going to last nearly as long as if you keep them in a cool, dry, dark place.

I keep most of my OTC and other drugs either in the half bath downstairs or in an old tackle box that I've converted into a "medicine chest."

[jrfoxx]

I'm no doctor, or pharmacist, but have looked into this subject in the past myself, because I'm a cheap bastage, a pack rat, and just HATE throwing anything away. The gist I got was that, like you say, MOST stuff is fine well past the 1 year expiration, but there are some drugs that do loose potency over time (opiates and antibiotics come to mind, but dont qute me for sure on that), and thus may not work as well as they should or you are expecing them too. Not a big deal for a lot of things, as if it doesnt work, it just doesnt, and you just have to get a new script, no harm done (and if it does work, great, saved a doctor visit, and the costs/copays). Could be an issue if you are talking about nitro pills, blood pressure meds, etc that are kinda vital to your survival when needed, but those are likely something you take regularly, and thus wont have "leftovers" to worry about anyways.

But, I agree, stuff like Tylenol, Motin, vitamins, etc, AFAIK, the worst that can happen is they have lost strength and dont work/work well. No biggie, it was worth a try to save a few $$, IMHO. Even with the stuff that IS important "life saving" type stuff, in an emergency, I suppose I'd rather give the 5 year old nitro pills a shot when having a heart attack, than do nothing but wait for the ambulance. It may save your arse, or it may not help, but I figure in a situation like that, it may at leats help some, and some is better than nothing, especially IF you know it certainly cant hurt (like it breaks down into something toxic or some such, which would obviously make things worse, but I havent ever heard of any drug that does that, I gather that worst case, they just loose strength). If nothing else, try to dig up info for the specific old meds you have (asking a pharmacist is probly a better bet than the internet) just to make sure there arent any that convert to arsenic or something over time. Then you know theres really nothing to lose, as worst case, it will just have no effect.

All that said, I have lots of old percriptions for stuff that I have hung on to, and have used on occasion after several years of sitting, and none of it has failed to work or has killed me or made things worse, that I have noticed  (mainly stuff like Motrin 800's, muscle relaxers from a previous back injury whenever I manage to hurt it again, old opiate pain releivers from injuries for when I hurt myself the next time, etc)

[Gowen]

Heck, I just used up a tube of hydrocortisone cream that expired in 98 or 99.  Seemed to work fine for me, but then again I might be surprised how well a new tube would work. 

[Ben]

Yeah, I'd only go well past the expiration date with common OTCs like aspirin, tylenol, vitamins, etc. The Harvard Med article specifically named a few prescription drugs people shouldn't take a chance with.

[Sindawe]

I don't keep drugs past their expiration data at all.  Some such as tetracycline and its derivatives can become nephrotoxic (damage or destroy the kidneys) in addition to a reduction or loss of their efficacy all together.  In the case of the rare prescription drugs, the entire course of the drug is consumed if they are antibiotics or only used if absolutely needed if opiate based (I do NOT like opiates), then the remainder are burned as a disposal means.

OTC drugs like aspirin and vitamins are also not kept beyond their expiration date.  In my eyes, using them past their shelf life is akin to playing russion roulette.  Most times its just -click- and all is well, but every now and again the result is *BOOM* and then there is a horrible mess for somebody else to clean up.

[Manedwolf]

Some more powerful drugs contain compounds that can recombine into more toxic forms over time.

Vitamins, though, just become less vitamin-ish, they lose their vitamin value.

[AmbulanceDriver]

.... Even with the stuff that IS important "life saving" type stuff, in an emergency, I suppose I'd rather give the 5 year old nitro pills a shot when having a heart attack, than do nothing but wait for the ambulance.....

Well, I'll tell you one thing about NTG tablets.  6 months or so after being exposed to air, they have broken down sufficiently to be pretty much useless.  That's why we no longer carry the tablets on our ambulances.  We carry a little pump sprayer that delivers the same dosage (0.4mg) as the tablets.  The liquid doesn't go bad nearly as fast (approx 2 years shelf life if I remember correctly).  Nitro is one of those drugs that you want to work at full potency, not kinda sorta work.   

[Boomhauer]

Hey, ambulance driver, weren't you the one that had to respond to the guy that used nitro ointment in an...interesting way?

 

[The Annoyed Man]

WHOA! Everybody back up.......

I need the 411 on this ointment story STAT! 

[Regolith]

Hey, ambulance driver, weren't you the one that had to respond to the guy that used nitro ointment in an...interesting way?

 

IIRC, the Ambulance Driver of APS is a different guy than the Ambulance Driver of Blogspot fame.  Our AD is located in Portland, the other in Louisiana.

[Regolith]

WHOA! Everybody back up.......

I need the 411 on this ointment story STAT! 

http://ambulancedriverfiles.blogspot.com/2007/03/warning-overuse-of-this-product-may.html