Expired Medication: Dangers Of Taking Out-Dated Prescription?
The expiry date of medicines is an issue that has been given to today’s discussion. The expiry date or expiry or maturity is defined as, the date placed on the packaging of a drug that indicates the period during which it is expected to use and the product meets the specifications. This date is established for each batch by adding the period of useful life from the date of manufacture. Or the date provided by the manufacturer in a non-encrypted form, which is based on the stability of the drug product and after which the drug should not be used.
Most of the people have one or two bottles of expired medicines at home. You may be tempted to take this medication, but be concerned about your health safety. According to a medical report 90% of the drugs tested, were safe even after15 years of its expiration date. The obvious problem is that you do not want to take 10% of the drugs that were not safe or effective. There are several reasons to avoid out-dated prescription drugs as some drugs lose potency over time and are less effective in treating the condition of the object. This is particularly true for insulin and nitroglycerin. If your doctor thinks you’re taking a medication properly but test results indicate that your condition is deteriorating, may increase the dose, with detrimental results. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends that you shouldn’t take obsolete drugs because they don’t function properly.
Drugs are chemicals that change their color, smell, chemical composition and texture over time. Can also be chemically decomposed, causing an unwanted effect on a body. Although it’s a rare happening, this is not an opportunity you crave to take, especially in case if the drug has expired many years ago. It is inappropriate to take expiry medicines.
Save the old drugs is a bad practice for many reasons. Antibiotics that have crossed their expiry date, you get sick if taken, instead it can actually worsen your condition if you are infected with different bacteria. It can also cause those bacteria to become stronger and more resistant to drugs if you do not take a full course of fresh antibiotic. However currently prescribed drugs may be contraindicated with old if take expired medicines. Your medical condition may change over ti because certain drugs were inappropriate for your health. Moreover, if you take an expired drug, you’ll be duplicating the effect of another medication you are taking. For example, duplicating effects of drugs can reduce your blood pressure without being noticed.
There are some drugs which active ingredients remain unchanged decades after its expiration date. A medical team analyzed eight drugs exceeded the expiry date from 28 to 40 years. It was found that;
Paracetamol and codeine remained more than 90% with its active principles for many years.
Over time, aspirin and amphetamine lost more properties as they retained less than 90% of their active ingredients.
According to researchers, the most common drugs, such as analgesics and anti-inflammatory, can remain effective if they are stored well and protected from extreme temperatures, moisture as well as sunlight, also clarified that if patients take expired drugs, consumer health is usually not at risk. Only some compounds (such as certain antibiotics, nitroglycerin, and insulin) become toxic when they pass the expiry date.
