When it is still okay to take expired medication?
EXPIRED MEDICATION – Medications that are passed their expiration can still be taken but you should understand first the surrounding circumstances.
Just like food, medicines also have certain expiration dates. However, based on the article from The Healthy, there are a few things that people should understand about the expired medication.
Understanding the expiration date
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has legally required drug manufacturers to list an expiration date since the year 1979. It is the given date by the manufacturer that guarantees the full potency and safety of the medicine, a study from the Harvard Medical School’s Health Publishing stated.
In research conducted by the FDA, there are certain drugs that can still be taken even 15 years beyond the written expiration date on the label. This goes to both prescription and over-the-counter medications. A study in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), proved that certain medicines can really extend 15 years. However, there is an exception to this, including the amphetamine (for ADHD and narcolepsy), phenacetin (a painkiller), and aspirin.
The “expiration dates put on by manufacturers typically have no bearing on whether a drug is usable for longer,” Francis Flaherty, former director of the FDA’s drug-testing program said. Based on the article, he also said that the dates were for “marketing, rather than scientific, reasons… It’s not profitable for them to have products on a shelf for 10 years. They want turnover.”
Here are the medicines that you should not take when they reached their expiration dates:
- Tetracycline (this antibiotic loses its effectiveness after expiration, though scientists are still researching this)
- Nitroglycerin (taken as heart medication)
- Insulin
- Liquid antibiotics
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