Can You Take Expired Drugs?

Every medicine you buy has an expiration date printed on it somewhere, but does it actually go bad? This week on Reactions, we explain the chemistry of drug expiration dates.

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Credits:
Producer: Kirk Zamieroski
Writer: Alexa Billow
Scientific Consultants: Lee Cantrell, PhD
Executive Producer: George Zaidan
Fact Checker: Alison Le

Music:
Robert Daglio - Mr. Fantastic

Sources:

Ever wonder why dogs sniff each others' butts? Or how Adderall works? Or whether it's OK to pee in the pool? We've got you covered: Reactions a web series about the chemistry that surrounds you every day.

Produced by the American Chemical Society.

[ACSReactions]

Another study (JAMA Intern. Med., 2012) studied medicines that had been kept in a climate-controlled locker for between 28 and 40 years. And found most of them were still good, even though some of them predated the moon landing. That’s for a given value of “good, ” since people in the 60s had some pretty wild ideas about what constitutes an effective diet pill.

[stonerman]

I personally do not think medication expires if stored correctly..
I’ve never heard of something turning toxic, and if you think that’s possible I recommend you ask your doctor.
Keep it in a dark, dry place at a constant temperature of 70 degrees or so.

[AdleisioCefnforDolphin]

So some states require pharmacies to list the expiration dates of a meds no more than a year out from the day that medication was bottled/prepared, even if this actual expiration date is another 1.5 years out.

So on a bottle, you'll have the date that it was filled and then an expiration date, if it is less that 1 year, that mean that expiration date was what was on the stock bottle. If it is 1 year, chances are it doesn't expire for a little while longer.

[danfr]

It would have been nice if you went into more detail about other medication, instead of just glossing over liquid medication. For example I heard you don’t want to use expired eye drops because it’s possible harmful bacteria have has enough time to grow and could lead to an eye infection. It would have been nice to have that info either confirmed with an explanation or debunked if it’s not the case.

[marahaslam]

So when you say aspirin "goes bad" do you mean it simply becomes ineffective, or that it becomes dangerous?

[FirstNameLastName-okayyoutube]

I've been using a bottle that is 4 years past expired date. Seems as good as the day I got it. Fun facts

[symbolxchannel]

The biggest factors that determines if the medication is going to spoil quicker are actually: risks of contamination, stability and hydrophilicity...
Gelatin capsules and orally dissolving tablets tends to absorb water and can then easily be contaminated with spores. Medications like aspirin, insulin and most aqueous solutions tend to be more sensitive to heat. And aqueous solutions also have the tendency to hydrolyse over long period of time... This is why we have to reconstitute some suspensions directly in the drugstore before selling it. And some medications are more sensitive to light (especially ultraviolet light).

[Psymphonicmonk]

The Dept of Defence in 1985 was the first to conduct extensive testing on the shelf life of militarily significant medication and found shelf life effectiveness far in advance of manufacturer dates. This has been repeated and replicated many times - the FDA included. Pharma companies however do not have to extend the expiries according to the FDA (and indeed have no incentive to) as long as shelf life is not SHORTER than effective expiry. With the exception of aspirin, amphetamine and possible others as yet undiscovered - most medications investigated can last 10, 20 or 40 years under the right conditions.

[DevRSingh]

Please make a video on "How Glucose Provides us energy"???

[dragonskunkstudio]

Now I want to find that study where they test WWII aspirin in 2010 ish and they were still good and safe to use.

[TheSvj]

Same with vitamins. They are safe to take after expiration. It'll just be less potent.

[seanthemark]

Now you tell me . I took some antihistamines that expired 5 years ago

[SmartSula]

I was just contemplating whether to take an aspirin pill last night that is almost a year past its expiration date. Glad I didn't!

[Yui]

Drugs are amazing it's a shame we can't fully enjoy them without it becoming a problem. Could you imagine how great life would be if we as a whole species could self-medicate without negative biological repercussions?
As a society, we've taken measures to prevent drug abuse and that's a good thing. It's a sacrifice we all made for the greater good. However, it would be nice to somehow have a bit more freedom of choice for those few of us who handle the stuff well. I take prescription medication for chronic pain and having the ability to treat myself to more powerful painkillers (percocets) every once in a while would be a very positive thing for me and my mental health. Chronic pain really weighs people down and being alleviated of that can put life back into a more positive perspective. Alas, that drug has proven to be potentially addictive and harmful and so isn't available on demand. There's no way for a professional to determine whether or not someone is fit to take powerful drugs they don't need and the logical decision is the current blanket ban.
On a slightly related note, making them illegal gives gangs a product thrive off of and imprisons good people who experiment on their own. Point being that society has made a serious problem worse.

[maryamkainat]

Omega 3 capsules can be used if expire date is one year past

[durgeshk]

Is it still safe taking 6 month expired alprazolam, if not then why all its OK to take just it's potency reduces to 10%?

[Koolaid]

If my inhaler is 7 months expired, is it ok to still use it?

[yvettefountain]

I did that before wasn't paying attention to the date on the bottle didn't have any problems but when I found out I throw them out

[lifeofaexplorer]

Well I found an extacy I had over 3 yrs 🤷🏼‍♀️ and I took it thinking the worst would be the weakness of the 💊 but I don’t know what happen i moved from 0-20000 I started vomiting I had to took a shower to cool down my body temperature..the pill was still effective tho I guess the side effects was just the vomiting

[radhapanalal]

I am so please with your advice but i want to know if janumet is expired how not safe it is thank you