Question:
I was wondering if anyone can tell me why medications have experation dates and if there is actually any harm in taking them after said date? Mykel
Response:
> I was wondering if anyone can tell me why medications have experation dates and > if there is actually any harm in taking them after said date? > Mykel
If you keep the drugs where they do not get hot and humid, like a bathroom w/shower and/or bath, and where they are in the dark and out of direct sunlight they will last for 10 or more years. The fringe is a good place, I keep old but useful drugs in my closet.
Response:
>I was wondering if anyone can tell me why medications have experation dates and >if there is actually any harm in taking them after said date?
If you are talking about the date stamped on the prescription bottle at the pharmacy in the US – that date is usually useless. Some will stamp 3 months from the date dispensed on each and every prescription as the date to throw them out, while a pharmacy two blocks down gives it a full year on every prescription – with a totally different date stamped on the actual bottle of meds supplied by the manufacturer. I imagine it is better to be safe than sorry, but I have taken pain meds supposed 2 years beyond the expiry date and they have worked fine. Milk, eggs – and sour cream the same. I doubt much research actually goes in to when they do begin to break down.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I was wondering if anyone can tell me why medications have experation dates and >if there is actually any harm in taking them after said date? > If you are talking about the date stamped on the prescription bottle > at the pharmacy in the US – that date is usually useless. Some will > stamp 3 months from the date dispensed on each and every prescription > as the date to throw them out, while a pharmacy two blocks down gives > it a full year on every prescription – with a totally different date > stamped on the actual bottle of meds supplied by the manufacturer. > I imagine it is better to be safe than sorry, but I have taken pain > meds supposed 2 years beyond the expiry date and they have worked > fine. Milk, eggs – and sour cream the same. > I doubt much research actually goes in to when they do begin to break > down.
I have pain pills from back when I was in college, mid 80’s. The anti pain medication lobby is so powerful in the USA that getting a pill that is much stronger then Tylenol with codeine is quite difficult. They still worked 2 years ago, but I felt it was enough time, and tossed them. In Maryland there is a law that says the pharmacy must label the expiry date as 1 year past is the dispensing date. The expiry date is a worst case thing with an implicit assumption of storage in a bright, hot, humid place. All that said, everyone must always take the entire course of anti biotics when they are prescribed. If you stop before the pills are all gone you simply help to bread the next generation of drug resistant bugs.
Response:
>I was wondering if anyone can tell me why medications have experation dates >and >if there is actually any harm in taking them after said date?
Some people will automatically tell you to discard them after the expiration date. While it is true that many medications do degrade over time, the expiration dates that are set are very arbitrary and designed to not only protect the pharmaceutical companies, but also to encourage destruction of perfectly good medication and ensure that new, and very expensive, medication be purchased. It is safe to assume that medication is still perfectly good for at least 2-3 years after its official expiration date. There are a limited number of medications that are very perishable, they almost always require refrigeration and should not be used after the labeled date. But almost all other medications that require storage at standard room temperature have been stabilized and are safe to use even after they expire.
Response:
> All that said, everyone must always take the > entire course of anti biotics when they are prescribed. If you stop before > the pills are all gone you simply help to bread the next generation of drug > resistant bugs.
I don’t think that’s regarded as being true any more. They certainly used to think that. But I heard on a reputable science-based medical program that you should stop taking antibiotics as soon as you improve. As for breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria, that’s more likely to happen the longer the course. Giving antibiotics to people or animals who are well also contribuutes to breeding bacterial resistance.
Response:
> All that said, everyone must always take the > entire course of anti biotics when they are prescribed. If you stop before > the pills are all gone you simply help to bread the next generation of drug > resistant bugs. > I don’t think that’s regarded as being true any more. They certainly > used to think that. But I heard on a reputable science-based medical > program that you should stop taking antibiotics as soon as you > improve.
Eric, enough is enough. The advice you just gave will kill people. Perhaps not anyone here, but it is very bad advice. Why not post any link showing a reputable source saying not to finish a course of anti biotics. > As for breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria, that’s more likely to > happen the longer the course. Giving antibiotics to people or animals > who are well also contribuutes to breeding bacterial resistance.
Thats quite true. People must not demand anti biotics unless they have a real infection. That said, if you are prescribed the drugs you must finish the entire course, or you will leave some of the more resistant bugs alive in you, and in time they will continue to bread. Since the easy to kill bugs are gone, you simply allow the stronger bugs to remain alive and breading.
Response:
> All that said, everyone must always take the > entire course of anti biotics when they are prescribed. If you stop before > the pills are all gone you simply help to bread the next generation of drug > resistant bugs. > I don’t think that’s regarded as being true any more. They certainly > used to think that. But I heard on a reputable science-based medical > program that you should stop taking antibiotics as soon as you > improve.
John, enough is enough. The advice you just gave will kill people. Perhaps not anyone here, but it is very bad advice. Why not post any link showing a reputable source saying not to finish a course of anti biotics. > As for breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria, that’s more likely to > happen the longer the course. Giving antibiotics to people or animals > who are well also contribuutes to breeding bacterial resistance.
Thats quite true. People must not demand anti biotics unless they have a real infection. That said, if you are prescribed the drugs you must finish the entire course, or you will leave some of the more resistant bugs alive in you, and in time they will continue to bread. Since the easy to kill bugs are gone, you simply allow the stronger bugs to remain alive and breading.
Response:
>John, enough is enough. >Eric, enough is enough.
Response:
>Steve Kaess is enough…time for that troll to hit the road.
Don’t mind me – I’ll stick around for the mandatory daily Eric Bitch Slap(tm).
Response:
>John, enough is enough. >Eric, enough is enough.
OK, here is what happened On my newsreader the message I replied to was bracketed by several from Eric and I though Eric wrote it. I caught the error too late, and obviously the cancel message feature did not work too well. opps!
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > All that said, everyone must always take the > > entire course of anti biotics when they are prescribed. If you stop > before > > the pills are all gone you simply help to bread the next generation of > drug > > resistant bugs. > I don’t think that’s regarded as being true any more. They certainly > used to think that. But I heard on a reputable science-based medical > program that you should stop taking antibiotics as soon as you > improve. > John, enough is enough. The advice you just gave will kill people. Perhaps > not anyone here, but it is very bad advice. Why not post any link showing a > reputable source saying not to finish a course of anti biotics. > As for breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria, that’s more likely to > happen the longer the course. Giving antibiotics to people or animals > who are well also contribuutes to breeding bacterial resistance. > Thats quite true. People must not demand anti biotics unless they have a > real infection. That said, if you are prescribed the drugs you must finish > the entire course, or you will leave some of the more resistant bugs alive > in you, and in time they will continue to bread. > Since the easy to kill bugs are gone, you simply allow the stronger bugs to > remain alive and breading.
I’m basing what I said on a report on the very reputable Health Report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National a few years ago. Research was presented to this effect. I haven’t got the details here. What you’re saying is conventional wisdom, but the newer thinking is apparently otherwise. Also, as I said, the longer course is more likely to breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The length of an antibiotic course is just a convention in many cases, anyway.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > > All that said, everyone must always take the > > > entire course of anti biotics when they are prescribed. If you stop > before > > > the pills are all gone you simply help to bread the next generation of > drug > > > resistant bugs. > > I don’t think that’s regarded as being true any more. They certainly > > used to think that. But I heard on a reputable science-based medical > > program that you should stop taking antibiotics as soon as you > > improve. > John, enough is enough. The advice you just gave will kill people. Perhaps > not anyone here, but it is very bad advice. Why not post any link showing a > reputable source saying not to finish a course of anti biotics. > > As for breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria, that’s more likely to > > happen the longer the course. Giving antibiotics to people or animals > > who are well also contribuutes to breeding bacterial resistance. > Thats quite true. People must not demand anti biotics unless they have a > real infection. That said, if you are prescribed the drugs you must finish > the entire course, or you will leave some of the more resistant bugs alive > in you, and in time they will continue to bread. > Since the easy to kill bugs are gone, you simply allow the stronger bugs to > remain alive and breading. > I’m basing what I said on a report on the very reputable Health Report > on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National a few > years ago. Research was presented to this effect. I haven’t got the > details here. > What you’re saying is conventional wisdom, but the newer thinking is > apparently otherwise. Also, as I said, the longer course is more > likely to breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The length of an > antibiotic course is just a convention in many cases, anyway.
What you say might be a truthful report of the thinking down under, however the ‘experts’ in the US (an oxymoron perhaps) are saying that people not finishing their anti biotics helps the bacteria get stronger. Who is right? Hell if I know.
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