Expired med -- would you use it?

[mlktwins]

I have an unopened Dramamine with an expiration date of 4/2013.  Should I use it or buy new?

 

Thanks much!

[phathui5]

The "risk" is that it's not going to work as well.

[TeacherZee]

I would buy a new one. That's over a year. Although I might ask a pharmacist when I was there to hand in the medicine (you should never throw medicine in the regular trash)

[Luanne]

Absolutely NOT.

[Catwoman]

Throw it out and buy a new bottle. Definitely.

[Laurie4b]

Most medicine works just fine well beyond its expiration date. (There is a big built-in margin.)  The risk is that it wouldn't be as potent. It's not like it spoils like meat. To be sure, you could call a pharmacist. They can't tell you to take expired medicine, but they could tell you whether or not it would be dangerous to take it. (I highly doubt it.)

[Unicorn.]

Yep, I would use it. As pp stated, it might not work quite as well, but really, it should be fine. I love expired Benadryl. For some reason it doesn't make me sleepy, but it still does the job it was designed to do.

[happypamama]

I once asked a doctor friend of mine about that. She said, with the exception of a very few antibiotics, most things, especially OTC meds, might just not be as effective, but they won't actually be harmful. That being said, if I knew it had expired and knew I'd be needing it, I'd buy a new bottle.

[marbel]

We'll use things for a year beyond the date.  (I am not a pharmacist or doctor so this is not medical advice.)  Exceptions are epi-pens and Benadryl needed for an allergic reaction.

 

I'm curious about the comment above about turning it in at the pharmacy.  I've yet to find a pharmacy that will take back expired medication without a fee, and I've never heard that it shouldn't be thrown out.   Actually, I got curious and did a search and discovered that yesterday was "National Drug Take Back Day."  Oh well.  Anyway, here is what I also found:

 

Disposal in Household Trash

If no medicine take-back program is available in your area, you can also follow these simple steps to dispose of most medicines in the household trash:¹

• Mix medicines (do NOT crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds;
• Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag; and
• Throw the container in your household trash.
• Before throwing out your empty pill bottle or other empty medicine packaging, remember to scratch out all information on the prescription label to make it unreadable.

Consumers are advised to check their local laws and ordinances to make sure medicines can legally be disposed of with their household trash.

[katilac]

I would use it, definitely. if it didn't seem effective, I'd buy a new bottle. if it seemed to work, I'd use this one up. 

[Wabi Sabi]

I'd still use it. 

[Catwoman]

I'm surprised at how many people would use a medication that expired a year ago when it can be replaced for less than $5.00.

[katilac]

I'm surprised at how many people would use a medication that expired a year ago when it can be replaced for less than $5.00.

 

Why would you be so hesitant to use it when it won't hurt you? It's not a question of not knowing; expired Benadryl is simply not going to harm you in any way. 

 

I use Benadryl all the time; I can easily tell if it's working or not. 

[DawnM]

Growing up overseas we used expired meds all the time. New medicine was simply not as easy to come by.

 

The risk, as has already been mentioned, is that it may not work as well.  

 

Maybe it should say "most potent until 4/13" instead of expiration date, like foods say, "best if used by....."

 

Dawn

 

 

I'm surprised at how many people would use a medication that expired a year ago when it can be replaced for less than $5.00.

 

[Catwoman]

Because 5 dollars if 5 dollars on something that cannot harm you. Plus, how many plane trips do I take a year??? Two. So it would take me a LONG time to use it and it seems wasteful to buy a whole other container that will go bad as well.

And if you take the expired Dramamine and it doesn't work for you, you would have been far better off spending the 5 bucks and not getting motion sickness on the plane. Nausea sucks. :ack2:

 

Maybe you place a much higher value on $5.00 than I do. I'd much rather be "wasteful" than potentially get sick.

[Indian summer]

I would use it! We have a family member who gets expired OTC stuff from his place of employment and hands it out to family, regularly. It's still good, just maybe not as strong.

[Jen500]

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update1103a.shtml

[Butter]

I would use it, definitely. if it didn't seem effective, I'd buy a new bottle. if it seemed to work, I'd use this one up. 

 

This is exactly what I'd do.

 

Something that could mean the difference between life and death, I'd probably not use it much past the expiration date, but things like dramamine, I'd definitely use.

[Catwoman]

Catwoman we will just have to disagree. The Dramamine I will be taking on our overseas trip is expired. I will use it. And yes, getting motion sickness stinks. I know, believe me. I just can't stand to waste stuff.

I hate wasting stuff, too, but I REALLY hate motion sickness, so I hope it still works for you!

[Kevin'sMom]

I am a retired nursing instructor and RN....the outdate on almost all medications is far in advance of their actual "outdate." I have used Dramamine much older than that with no problem.

 

Heartlikealion in an above post mentioned, I think Epi Pens. They ABSOLUTELY must be in date!

[EmilyGF]

Read the link in #21. Thanks for posting!

 

That'll save me money. :-)

[Tammi K]

My original opinion was that I would probably take most expired meds except something like insulin or an epi-pen. Then I read the article from a pp and now I see I could even use expired insulin!  So, yeah, I would use expired OTC meds.

[Crimson Wife]

For something like Drammamine, I would. For something to treat a serious condition, I would get a new bottle. It may only be $5, but that's $5 I'm not putting towards something that is a higher priority.

[mirth]

I disagree that meds never go bad and only lose efficacy.  If the medicine were liquid or some kind of liquid-filled capsule, no I wouldn't take it.  If solid, maybe.  Liquids other than antiseptics or disinfectants are a breeding ground for microbes.   Microbes are always present, even in the pharma manufacturing facility.  The expiry date for liquids should be taken more seriously, especially liquids dispensed from a big bottle that is already opened.  (I know the OP's is unopened)

[Myeightkiddies]

I would use it.  I kept a travel container of Dramamine in my purse for six years.  It worked fine.   We have fresher in the house, which the kids and I usually take before car rides, but in a pinch I relied on the ones in my purse.  

 

By the way, asthma inhalers do go bad.  They get significantly weaker pretty quickly.  Never rely on old ones of those.  I can really tell the difference.  

[I talk to the trees]

From a pharmacist neighbor: Never take expired antibiotics, or expired open liquids. Pretty much everything else is safe, although it will become less potent and less effective as time goes on.

 

Re: asthma inhalers- I still have a couple of old cfc inhalers. Even old, they work far better than the hfa carp they like to call a rescue inhaler these days!

[Luanne]

I'm with catwoman, but I guess a lot of you don't care if your med works right or if you end up with motion sickness anyway.  I don't know why anyone would want to be motion sick. 

[Jen500]

I'm with catwoman, but I guess a lot of you don't care if your med works right or if you end up with motion sickness anyway.  I don't know why anyone would want to be motion sick. 

 

I think you should give people a little more credit as far as evaluating their own situation.

[texasmama]

I found a package of 4 Imitrex recently when going through an old purse.  It expired in 2009.  I've had to take two of them so far and they worked just fine.  I wouldn't eat meat that expired in 2009, but I would certainly take Dramamine that expired last year.

[Myeightkiddies]

Just because something expired doesn't mean it isn't working right.  The expired Dramamine that I used worked perfectly.  How do I know?  Well, I have to take Dramamine if I watch a movie in a theatre, watch anyone play (or myself play) any kind of game that has movement including just walking (video game), ride a bike, skate, fly, ride in a car, go on any kind of movement ride (WDW tame rides), etc.  If it didn't work, I would know it real fast in a not so great way.

[Myeightkiddies]

From a pharmacist neighbor: Never take expired antibiotics, or expired open liquids. Pretty much everything else is safe, although it will become less potent and less effective as time goes on.

 

Re: asthma inhalers- I still have a couple of old cfc inhalers. Even old, they work far better than the hfa carp they like to call a rescue inhaler these days!

 

True!  I dislike the new ones.

[Pawz4me]

I'm old enough to easily remember the time before expiration dates were put on medicines.  People kept stuff for years and used it and I never remember anyone having a problem.   My very well-informed nurse aunt has told me it's fine to use most medications well beyond the expiration date.  My vet has said the same thing.  I've had pharmacists tell me the same thing.  So I would use it w/o a second thought.

[flyingiguana]

I've used expired Dramamine. It was fine.

 

And I'm very susceptible to motion sickness.

[Wheres Toto]

Dh is a generic pharmaceutical chemist.  Part of what he does is stability testing on medications.  Most medications (especially OTC) will be effective long after the expiration dates.  The expiration date shows how long they tested for without any loss of active pharmaceutical ingredient.   Because it's not necessary for approval (and not in their own best interest financially - they want to sell MORE product), most manufacturers will not bother testing for longer.  This definitely doesn't mean that's the longest the medication will be effective.   As said before, as time goes on the efficacy may be reduced but with very stable medications (usually the solid oral dosage forms - pills) it's likely to be a very very long time.

 

Also as said before though, some medications, especially liquids or aerosols, and definitely those requiring refrigeration like some antibiotics and insulin, the effective window will be much shorter.

[AmandaVT]

My Dr. has a bottle of advil left over from med school (more than 20 years ago) and she says they still work fine! That was her reply when I asked her about an expired bottle of Meclizine (dramamine 2) that I had. :-)

[LucyStoner]

A year expires? That's like nothing. Are they blister packed? They will last even longer.

[Butter]

My Dr. has a bottle of advil left over from med school (more than 20 years ago) and she says they still work fine! That was her reply when I asked her about an expired bottle of Meclizine (dramamine 2) that I had. :-)

 

Having a bottle of Advil that old has me baffled.  I have no doubt it still works fine, but she must almost never take medicine or it's one heck of a huge bottle.  Even the Costco bottles don't last more than 2-3 years here and we are generally not the medicating type.