Health care professionals often urge patients to discard medications past their labeled expiration dates, but there is little information about the safety and efficacy of such medicine.
Expired medicine often is shipped to developing countries, who cannot afford to purchase fresh supplies. For reasons of legal liability, manufacturers seldom comment on this matter. The Medical Letter recently tackled this important but rarely addressed issue. (1)
A drug's expiration date is 2 to 5 years after it has been sealed in a container. The projection of continued stability through this date is based on a closed and protected environment and no longer applies once the original container is opened.
Nonetheless, except for toxicity associated with degraded tetracycline (Fanconi's syndrome), no serious reactions have been linked to outdated medication.
On the other hand,
most drugs do become less potent over time. The rate of decay can correlate with many factors, involving both the drug and the environment. The Medical Letter opines that, in general, most tablets or capsules retain 70% to 80% of their potency for at least 1 to 2 years after the expiration date, even after the container has been opened. There are several noted exceptions, however, such as carbamazepine (Tegretol and others), which is the one psychotropic drug that has been recalled because of impaired dissolution during storage.
The bottom line? Except for tetracycline, outdated medicines are unlikely to do harm. They will lose potency over time, but most tablets and capsules will retain most of their strength for 1 to 2 years after their expiration dates.
Reply With Quote![][-][ ][-][ ][-]['s Avatar](customavatars/avatar22346_4.gif "][-][ ][-][ ][-]['s Avatar"){kind=avatar}
Originally Posted by dcrismon
