why is it important not to use medication beyond its sell-by date?

Answer 1

Most of what is known about drug expiration dates comes from a study conducted by the FDA at the request of the military. With a large and expensive stockpile of drugs, the military faced tossing out and replacing its drugs every few years. What they found from the study is 90% of more than 100 drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiration date. Check out this excellent article that I have cited as a source...

So the expiration date doesn't really indicate a point at which the medication is no longer effective or has become unsafe to use.

Answer 2

Don't confuse the 'sell by' date and the 'use by' date. The 'sell by' is more for the pharmacist, so he doesn't sell it beyond a certain date. The potency should be okay for the consumer if the drug is purchased right around the 'sell by' date and is used and not stored on a shelf. The 'use by' date is for you. Beyond this date, the drug has lost its potency and should not be taken.

Answer 3

Even water has a sell by date. The sell by date is the date that the item has been proven safe until used by. From what I understand the medications start loosing potency.

Answer 4

The Expiration Date—The expiration date on the manufacturer's package is based on the stability of the drug in its original closed container. The date does not necessarily mean that the drug was found to be unstable after a longer period; it means only that real-time data or extrapolations from accelerated degradation studies indicate that the drug will still be stable at that date. The expiration date for new drugs is usually 2-3 years from the date of manufacture. Once the original container is opened for use or dispensing, the expiration date on the container no longer applies. Retail pharmacists who repackage drugs, in accordance with the standards of the US Pharmacopoeia (USP), label them with a “beyond-use” date generally one year from the date the prescription is filled.

Answer 5

I work in a hospital pharmacy and have asked this self same question to a senior pharmacist. I was told that a drug has a shelf life and when this is exceed there are changes to the constituents which changes the properties of the drug and depending on which drug this is can present varying degrees of danger. This is why all drugs that have passed their expiry date are destroyed and not passed on to 3rd world countries.
How natural medicines change after their expiry date I don't know but assume the potency could be affected.
If in doubt chuck it out!!

Answer 6

Although loss of potency is an issue, the real concern is something else completely. Over time many medications (ie aspirin) react with air and moisture and chemically change (thats why the put the cotton in there). THE MEDICATION MAY DEGRADE TO A TOXIC SUBSTANCE (never take aspirin with crystals forming in it).

Answer 7

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Answer 8

All the sell by date means is that the meds lose potency / effectiveness overtime. If it is just a little bit old you can take it but dont take it several months to years old.

Answer 9

Because after the sell-by date the ingredients start to degrade. The medication can become less effective or even do something it's not intended to do (if one ingredient degrades before another, you''ll get full strength of one thing, but less of something else. Could cause you harm).

Answer 10

it is very important not to use medication beyond its sell by date because as any other products it can poison you instead of making you better, the body is very fragile and any harmful substance that is not suitable for us to take in is poisonous!!!