Why are the vials only good for 2 weeks after opening the foil pouch on Xopenex?

Question

My daughter is finishing up a treatment of Xopenex and I had to open a new foil pouch this morning. She'll probably only use a few vials out of the pouch and hopefully won't be needing it again anytime soon. The product says to dispose of open pouches in 2 weeks. Why is that? Does it lose effectiveness, become toxic, what? I don't want to harm her in anyway, but I don't want to throw it away immediately either. I've been keeping it in the foil pouch, in the box, in a ziploc, in a box - surely that could add some life to the product?? You'd think the manufacturer would package it in a manner not to be so wasteful.

Answer 1

a very good concern indeed. The reason why they suggest to discard these things in a fixed time is because yes they lose efficacy and may be somewhat harmful too. The drug company doesn't want the patient to take a medicine with no effect or get side effects because after so many hours of being opened the chemical structure may have altered. typically the medicine will last a little longer than the expiry date but they stay on the safe side. understanding your point completely and being a dad, I would still follow the recommendations on the drug packets, good luck