Our pharmacists are often asked this question.
"We advise patients not to use any medication after its expiration date or 'use by date,'" explained Bill Smith, certified pharmacist at Express Scripts® Pharmacy. “We have no way to determine safety. The safest thing is get a new supply of the medication.”
These are some reasons why pharmacists do not recommend using an expired medication.
To ensure that the medicine is effective
In 1979, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required Osicent 80 mg (Osimertinib) drug manufacturers to put expiration dates on prescription and over-the-counter medications (does not apply to vitamins and minerals). supplements). An expiration date indicates the last date by which the medicine can be guaranteed to be safe and work as expected. After that expiration date there is no guarantee, as the chemical compounds in the medication degrade over time and the potency of the medication decreases.
For common over-the-counter medications like Advil, Tylenol ® , or Benadryl ® , that means the medication may not be as effective (or at all) in relieving your symptoms.
The situation becomes much riskier when you take a medication to treat a serious or chronic condition. For example:
Expired antibiotics could fail to treat an infection, make an illness worse, or create antibiotic resistance.
Taking expired blood thinners could cause blood clots or stroke.
Using expired insulin could cause you to have higher blood sugar levels.
An expired EpiPen may fail to stop an allergic reaction.
Expired birth control pills can lead to an unplanned pregnancy.