Poll: Do you ever use OTC medicines past expiration date

[David1961]

Do you ever use OTC medicines past their expiration date?

I do sometimes and if the date is not too long ago (generally less than a year). I ask because just this morning, I found some medicine that had an 2008 expiration date! Hey I can LBYM with the best of them, but let's not get carried away!

 

[REWahoo]

Depends. I will use them for up to 12 mos past their expiration date but only if I know they have been stored in a climate-controlled environment - like in my medicine cabinet.

 

[Animorph]

We hardly ever use anything, so "frequently" doesn't really apply. On the other hand, anything we have around the house is probably out of date because we hardly ever use it. So our initial doses are usually out of date. We buy more if we need more than just a little. My cough pills that I finally needed this year expired in 1998. I didn't try them, and found something better at the drugstore.

 

[Sue J]

Yes, for things like tablets in a sealed bottle or blister package. One that we replace at expiration is Benedryl which DH keeps because he is allergic to bee stings. He doesn't want to be concerned about expiration vs. effectiveness if he gets stung.

 

[Midpack]

Depends on the specifics, but is there any harm in taking meds past expiration date? They may lose effectiveness, but they don't become toxic somehow do they, just no longer effective? So my reasoning right or wrong is try them, if they don't work throw them out and get new. I don't know for sure so I may be wrong, so I am asking more than recommending...

 

[Dash man]

For pain meds it's probably not an issue. For antibiotics it's probably not too smart.

 

[Alan]

For pain meds it's probably not an issue. For antibiotics it's probably not too smart.

I'm not sure that you can buy antibiotics OTC.

What we buy OTC are mostly pain pills, decongestants and the like. I don't hesitate in taking these after their expired dates.

 

[martyb]

Antibiotic ointments, maybe. I've wondered if they are still as effective when they've been laying in a drawer for 2 or 3 years after the dates expired. I don't think they'd hurt you, but not sure if they'd still do the job effectively.

 

[Alan]

Antibiotic ointments, maybe. I've wondered if they are still as effective when they've been laying in a drawer for 2 or 3 years after the dates expired. I don't think they'd hurt you, but not sure if they'd still do the job effectively.

I agree and we do keep a tube of neosporin in the place but I can't honestly say that I have ever checked the expiration date.

 

[Dash man]

I missed the OTC...must be the medicine I'm currently using with the Black Label

 

[Alan]

I missed the OTC...must be the medicine I'm currently using with the Black Label

 

[Surfdaddy]

I worked in pharma for 18 years. The FDA rules for stability of drugs are that the product must retain at least 90% potency through the expiry date. In MOST cases, the drugs are extremely stable and would be fine after 5 or 10 years, but not all.

I figure that if the drug is aspirin or topical antibiotic it's fine. I agree that I wouldn't take antibiotics that were more than a year or two out of date. Look at what you are treating and ask yourself how critical it is to get the complete dose, then act accordingly.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Do you ever use OTC medicines past their expiration date?

I do sometimes and if the date is not too long ago (generally less than a year). I ask because just this morning, I found some medicine that had an 2008 expiration date! Hey I can LBYM with the best of them, but let's not get carried away!

I don't take OTC meds after expiration. However I had some Campbell's soup a couple weeks ago that was years past the use-by date. I boilled it real good though.For canned soup, all that salt is your friend.

 

[F4mandolin]

Expiration dates are wildly over safe. Dr Fred told you so.

 

[MRG]

They have an expiration date?
MRG

 

[W2R]

Poll: Do you ever use OTC medicines past expiration date

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.... depends on several factors, to varying degrees: how out of date it is, what the medicine is, how urgent my need for it is, whether or not the stores are open, and so much more.

 

[keegs]

If I do, I usually run it by the wife first.

 

[donheff]

I don't ever look at the expiration date of OTCs. I have probably taken some that are 5+ years old. I have some Indomethicin (prescription anti inflammatory) that works fine 10+ years after expiration.

 

[obgyn65]

I should not say this but the answer is yes.

 

[mickeyd]

"Occasionally" is probably my answer so I selected #2. Don't really check because I rarely take any OTC meds. On occasion I have also taken prescribed meds that are passed the 1 year expire date (which is probably arbitrary anyway).

 

[powerplay]

About the only thing I use is ibuprofen and not very often. So yes it is likely to be past the expiry date cause I don't use up the bottle in the time allowed by the expiry date.

 

[Al in Ohio]

Yes. I wonder if its potency is ok if it's more than 2 years past its date, but less than 2 over I consider I'm probably just cutting into the safety factor and its still prob good.

 

[6miths]

I took a decongestant that expired in Feb 2010 about 90 minutes ago. It seems to be working and I haven't started hallucinating yet. Really, what's the worst that could happen?

 

[Live And Learn]

I will eat food up to 2 years beyond the "best used by" date and OTC medicines up to 1 year beyond. I try not to buy stuff that will expire before I use it but do admit to having too much low cal salad dressing for the diet that never came to pass