Do Antibiotics In Pill Form Expire?

Question

I have almost a full bottle of pill-form Amoxicillin 500mg that I received in November of 2004. Now, it's the weekend, and to try and fend off a possible infection, I want to start taking some antibiotics.

Can I take these pills, or do you think they've expired? There's no expiration date anywhere on the bottle, but I don't want to be risky. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Plus, I'm going to the doctor on Tuesday, so I'm not just being stubborn and trying to cure something without going to the doctor.

Answer 1

of course do not think to take the pills... the expiration date is not the only thing that counts. as you can notice some meduications must be protected from light others should not be subjected to air. so do not take the old amoxicilline you have. and go visit your doctor and take the new prescribe medication instead...

Answer 2

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RE:
Do Antibiotics In Pill Form Expire?
I have almost a full bottle of pill-form Amoxicillin 500mg that I received in November of 2004. Now, it's the weekend, and to try and fend off a possible infection, I want to start taking some antibiotics.

Can I take these pills, or do you think they've expired? There's no...

Answer 3

Do Antibiotics Expire

Answer 4

Yes, they can expire. Make sure that you go to the doctor before you take the pills. If it's not a BACTERIAL infection antibiotics will do nothing but cause drug resistance or at the very least kill the good bacteria in your body. The doctor may just perscrbe the exact same medication if it is a bacterial infection. If this is the case, I would just call the pharmicist to find out about the expiration date, then if it's not too late take the pills if there are enough. Always take the dosage you are perscribed even if you start to feel better. Again, that's to prevent bacterial drug resistance.

Answer 5

Look on the bottle. There should be an expiration date. ALL medicine, prescribed or OTC, has an expiration date.

It is NOT a good idea to just take antibtics. Wait until you see the doctor. You need to take an entire series of antibiotics otherwise you can have what is called rebound which means the infection could come back worse that the original one.

ALWAYS finish the series even if you feel better.

Answer 6

Yes, they expire. Usually within 2 yrs. They lose there effectiveness as well. You should throw them out. If they smell funny (sour) they are bad. Besides antibiotics are prescribed for particular illnesses and are not a cure all for just anything. If what you hav is viral it won't help you at all to take an antibiotic.

Answer 7

antibiotics pill form expire

Answer 8

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I think you should ask a pharmacist. It depend on the medications that you are taking too. Pharmacist are the expert for sure. But from experience, one of my friend who was epileptic, she tool expired medication for a few days, and she was not feeling well. One time I ask the same question to a pharmacist too, and he told me that as a GENERAL rule, medication have an expirie date of ONE year, and after that, they effect may decrease---even toothpaste! But I think that you should have the pharmacist to be sure, they would know better. P.s.: You should have finish your prescribed antibiotics when it was prescribe, that was a very important thing to do! (I am in my second year Nursing student.) Take Care

Answer 9

call your Pharmacy and give them the RX number, they can pull the file and give you the information on the pill prescribed, maybe even give you an expiration date. if it has been two years, don't take the antibiotics. Wait and tell your doctor about your symptoms.

Answer 10

You should not take antibiotics if you are not sick - your body can build up an immunity to them and make it harder for them to work when you do get sick. They do expire and are probably not as effective as they were when they were new.