can you take medication after the expiration date?

Question

taking cough med. but looking in the first-aid kit i wonder...

Answer 1

One of two things can happen depending on the medication. After the expiration the chemicals in the medication start to break down causing it to be either 1. no longer effective, so essentially your taking a placebo(your best case scenario) or 2. the chemical changes in a way that could now be dangerous(ie. you can die). Either way just throw it out. Best case it's not going to work, worst case you die. There are other in between scenarios, but none of them are the medication working the way it is supposed to, so why take the chance. Expirations are on the meds for a reason.

Answer 2

If there is an expiration date on a medication bottle that doesn't actually mean the medicine is bad and you cannot take it. Now usually there is only expiration dates on a liquid form of medicine like take for example Penicillin, it is a liquid lets say the expiration date just came up and it is past it. The medicine might not take full effect but it won't hurt you.

Answer 3

It's OK to take expired medication in most cases it just may loose some of it's effectiveness, it mainly depends on how expired it is, I would say you shouldn't take them,you should always throw out any expired meds! If you have a cough, the best thing for that is Mucinex, it is the single most greatest thing ever invented, within 3 days it's all gone!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

OTC drugs are given a conservative expiration date, so the medicine is good for a bit longer than the date they put on the box or bottle. I usually don't worry if it's a month after the date, but refuse to use anything older than one month after the expiration date. Companies would rather have you throw out your medicine early and avoid any potential lawsuits than stretch the date to the max. Doesn't hurt that after you throw it out you have to buy more from them either :)

So, use your judgement. Don't use anything too old. Your health is worth more than the $3-10 you'd save by using really old meds.

Answer 5

You would have to look up the "half life" for the substance. each substance degrade at a different speed. The half life is actually only 50% degradation, and from that point that 50% would degrade 50% more. What it means is it takes forever for some substances to lose potency.

You really should be fine for a year no probelm. If you really care, look up the half life

Answer 6

basically for most food stuff, the expiry dates are just a guideline...they are still good for a year or so, unless they are contaminated....but for medication, it's best not to take it after the expiration date as it's full of chemical and some chemicals will react/oxidized once the bottle/container was opened...

Answer 7

Most of the medicines loose their medicinal properties with time and some may become harmful.to be on the safe side it is better not to use the expired items

Answer 8

Probably the med is okay for another year is what I have been told by doctors. Unless it gets exposed to extreme temperature or moisture, you will probably get good results and it probably won't hurt you. If anything, it won't work and you will just have to get some more prescribed.

Answer 9

its good up to 6 months after expiring...a pharmacist told me once the only reason they put expiration dates is cause they want you to come back and purchase more medication.

Answer 10

medication taken after its expiry date will only cause the side effects of it, and will prove harmful to the body