If one consumes a Medicine( oral drugs--tablets, etc) after its expiry date is over, is it harmful ?

Question

Suppose, 2 yr from the date of Manufacturing is expiry date. Now, if one consumes it after 2yrs + 8 months, then will it be harmful ?

--Well, I know it depends upon the type of medicine, but, in general, I think most medicines should not harm even if they're consumed after expiry date.

What is your opinion ?

Answer 1

I hope you want the truth on this because, here it comes. Do you really think that ater all the years of medication preparation and packaging that expiration dates didn't become important until 15 years ago? What is rediculous is that they put expiration dates on EVERYTHING. In truth, there are very few items, (including medications) that really warrant an expiration date. Oh, they want you to think so. Let me tell you what happened. A "hot shot" marketing exec. woke up one morning and said, "I know how I can make retailers clear their shelves of our product and buy more" and expiration dates became a reality. I'm not saying that there aren't some items/medications that don't require expiration dates, but it is a short list. Most medications are stable for a LONG time. I was practicing when the pharmaceutical companioes came up with this expiration date on everything crap and we saw it for what it was - a way to drive medical costs through the roof. Costs to consumers doubled the day that guy woke up because retailers had to cover the arbitrary obsolesence.

Answer 2

It all depends on the drug. The criteria for an expiration date is that the drug has to be 90% as effective as the date it was made. Most drugs just loose their effectiveness. Some degrade faster that others depending on how they've been stored. I would be careful. Aspirin for example turns into a derivative of formaldehyde after it gets so old (you can tell if it has a strong vinegar-like smell). Unless it's one of those, as long as it still looks and smells the same the worse it will do is nothing at all. it's probably not going to have much effect 3 years from the expiration date.

Answer 3

There are exceptions to the rule... but in general, expired medications will not harm you. They set expiration dates because drugs break-down over time. Suppose that the drug is 100% effective at the time of manufacturing. The expiration date is set so that when it expires, the drug is only 90% effective (so there is a decrease in effectiveness). So, while the drug remains effective after the expiration date, it is not as effective as it was when it was manufactured.

I would not suggest taking antibiotics past the expiration date, or anything else that has a biologic origin.

Answer 4

That's a "maybe it will, maybe it won't harm you" answer. Drugs have an expiration date because the chemical properties that make it what it is, break down and lose their chemical composition. It is best not to use them after the expiration date because they can break down and produce a "new" chemical composition that may adversely affect you. Some drugs have a very volatile chemical state which only last for so long.....thus an expiration date. I wouldn't flirt with consuming them after the expiration.

Answer 5

No they won't be harmful. Making sure a medicine doesn't become harmful over time is extremely important during production stages. Now what DOES happen is the medicine's ability to do what its supposed to will decline. Like aspirin, if you take 5 year old aspirin it won't be as affective as if you had a fresh bottle. It's like potato chips, they become stale over time and won't taste the same, although they're still chips, they aren't as good as they once were.

Answer 6

Rudy seems to have covered very well. The only medicines I'm aware of that need to be current are the penicillins because they lose potency. I understood that they used the urine of treated patients to recycle it when there was a shortage in WWII. You can smell a change in some meds when they age and I assume it's from them breaking down.

Answer 7

I personally would call your doctor to just get a new perscpiton just to be safe.

Answer 8

8 months? Hmm, might be all right.

Answer 9

i think it lessens the effect of the drug.