Is it safe to use expired drugs? Don’t be too shocked
when I tell you that a good deal of medications in my personal
household pharmacy may be over their use-by-date. Living in
a place like Bali where most people stock up on medications
from overseas (some of them very expensive!), many will store
their medicines past the expiry date printed on the box.
A bad habit? Wrong. It is probably a sensible one according
to a study done by the American FDA which found that most
drugs are labeled very conservatively as far as their shelf
life is concerned, and that many are still potent up to 10
years after the given expiry date.
“The military has stockpiled drugs beyond their expiration
date after being told by federal regulators that the drugs
remain safe and potent. The guidance from the Food and Drug
Administration began in 1985, when the Air Force asked the
agency to check on its drug supplies to see if the medications
could be used beyond the expiration date, Pentagon spokesman
Kenneth Bacon said.
“The FDA did this and found basically that the expiration
dates tended to be very conservative, and as a result, many
of these drugs could have a much longer shelf life than the
manufacturer said,” Bacon said.
The FDA testing covered more than 100 drugs, prescription
and over-the-counter, and found that 90 percent of them were
safe beyond the expiration date. Bacon said the drugs have
been tested by either the manufacturer or the FDA, but always
with FDA supervision.
The FDA said the extended shelf life does not apply to all
prescription drugs.
“For the Department of Defense we have data on which
to base the extension,” FDA spokesman Larry Bachorik
said. “We analyze and know that the products are fine.”
(AFP)
So, according to the FDA drugs “expire” on the
date they’re projected to have lost 10 percent of their
potency, which means they are still 90% effective, although
the outdated drug is not as effective as the “fresh”
drug.
- Factors that will shorten the lifespan of a drug are moisture,
increased temperature, manufacturing impurities, and, for
some drugs, light, so storing your medicines correctly has
a big effect on the long – livety of your medications.
I store most of mine in the fridge. ALWAYS take note of the
manufactures storage recommendations.
- Drugs such as phenobarbital, dilantin( for epilepsy), lidocaine
(local anasthetic) and theophylline(asthma drug), lose potency
fairly quickly and aren’t as effective once they’ve
expired.
- Eye & ear drops should be discarded 2 weeks after they
are opened, regardless of expiry dates as they lose their
potency very quickly.
- Never use a medication (expired or not) that has changed
color or consistancy.
- Less commonly, but potentially more serious, are reactions
to some of the compounds formed as a drug ages. As tetracycline
(a commonly used antibiotic) breaks down it forms epitetracycline,
which is known to cause problems.
- Store all your oil based medications (especially Vit E &
Omega 3’s) in a cool, dark place. Preferrably a fridge,
as rancid Vit E oil (including foods containing Vit E such
as wheat germ) are highly toxic.
So generaly speaking most over-the-counter household medications
are still safe if stored correctly, but may not be as effective
as time increases.
“Kim Patra is a qualified Registered Nurse and Midwife
that has been living and working in Bali for almost twenty
years. She now runs her own private practice and medical referral
service from her Kuta office. Kim is happy to discuss any
health concerns with you and she may be contacted via e-mail
at info@chcbali.com”.
