Proper storage of medications may help to extend their potency. The bathroom and medicine cabinet are not ideal places to store medications due to heat and humidity.
Similarly, medications should not be left in a hot car. Medications remain most stable in dry, cool spaces away from light. Keep the prescription bottle caps tightly closed and always keep medications out of reach of children and pets. An independent organization could also do testing similar to that done by the FDA extension program or data from the extension program could be applied to properly stored medications 1. The United States' Center for Drug Evaluation and Research officially recommends that drugs past their expiration date be disposed.
It has been argued that this practice is wasteful, since consumers and medical facilities are encouraged to purchase fresh medication to replace their expired products, also resulting in additional profits for pharmaceutical firms. Updated: August 13, , it turns out that the expiration date on a drug does stand for something, but probably not what you think it does.
Since a law was passed in , drug manufacturers are required to stamp an expiration date on their products. This is the date at which the manufacturer can still guarantee the full potency and safety of the drug.
Medical authorities state that expired medicine is safe to take, even those that expired years ago. It's true the effectiveness of a drug may decrease over time, but much of the original potency still remains even a decade after the expiration date. Excluding nitroglycerin, insulin, and liquid antibiotics, most medications are as long-lasting as the ones tested by the military. Placing a medication in a cool place, such as a refrigerator, will help a drug remain potent for many years.
Solid dosage forms, such as tablets and capsules, appear to be most stable past their expiration date. Drugs that exist in solution or as a reconstituted suspension, and that require refrigeration such as amoxicillin suspension , may not have the required potency if used when outdated. Food and Drug Administration FDA has required that pharmaceutical companies put expiration dates on prescription and over-the-counter medicines.
That doesn't mean your bottle of ibuprofen will go bad in the same way as, say, an expired carton of milk. The date that you see printed on a pill bottle is the date until which the medicine's manufacturer will guarantee the drug's safety and full potency. How long a drug actually remains safe and effective, however, is often a matter of debate. Besides some medicines like insulin, nitroglycerin and liquid antibiotics, whose active ingredients are known to be less stable over time, many drugs might have a much longer shelf life than their packaging suggests.
Medicines have expiry dates so you know when to use them by. After the expiry date medicines may not be safe or as effective. You should not take medicines after their expiry date.
If you've had a medicine for a while, check the expiry date before using it. You should also make sure that you've stored the medicine properly, as described on the packaging or leaflet. If your medicine looks, tastes or smells different to when you first got it, even if it's within the expiry date, take it to your pharmacist for advice. What to do when elective surgery is postponed. What happened to trusting medical experts? Stuttering in children: How parents can help. Evoking calm: Practicing mindfulness in daily life helps.
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