- Expired medications are less effective
- Expired drugs turn into harmful substances and can be toxic to the body
- What to do with expired medications?
VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: lek. Patryk Jasielski
In our home first aid kits, it happens that we find various drugs that are one, two or more overdue. The question then arises whether they are still usable. Find out why you shouldn't take such medications.
Each drug manufactured by the manufacturer has a strictly defined expiry date, indicating the date by which a given preparation can be consumed. The expiry date of the drug for use results from the conducted research. This ensures that the drug will work fully effectively and will not lead to poisoning. Consumption of expired preparations may have various he alth consequences.
In some cases, nothing will happen. However, there may be occasions where the drug is less effective or causes diarrhea. Sometimes, however, it can lead to more serious poisoning. Why, then, is not allowed to take expired medications?
Expired medications are less effective
Each drug has chemicals that are responsible for their action. They have a defined half-life before half of the drug is broken down to other compounds. It is a different, individual time for each drug, tested by the manufacturer of the preparation.
Therefore, out-of-date drugs may no longer have the original 100% of the active substance, but less, because some of them have already decomposed. For some medications, it doesn't matter that much.
Partially disassembled painkillers will simply be less effective. The problem is the drugs used in chronic diseases that must be taken continuously, in an appropriately selected dose, so that they work optimally.
Examples include anticoagulants such as warfarin or acenocoumarol and antihypertensive drugs. The former, in the right dose, protect against thrombosis and dangerous consequences, such as a stroke.
Too low a dose may not provide sufficient protection and lead to a stroke. The latter, in turn, provide good pressure control, which may be disturbed at a lower dose.
Expired drugs turn into harmful substances and can be toxic to the body
As previously mentioned, expired drugs can break down withsecreting various, in some cases dangerous to he alth, metabolites. They can trigger various, often unexpected, reactions in the body. Most of them are harmless and cause short-term diarrhea or stomach ache.
Some people may be allergic to metabolites resulting from drug degradation. If this happens, a severe allergic reaction, including anaphylactic shock, may occur. The literature also describes cases of damage to the renal tubules in the form of Fanconi syndrome after the use of expired tetracyclines, which are antibiotics.
This is a serious kidney disease where various substances are lost in the urine. That is why it is so important for your he alth not to take overdue medications, because you never know if and to what substances they will be broken down and how the body will react to them.
What to do with expired medications?
After finding out-of-date drugs in the home medicine cabinet, the first thought that appears is simply throwing them into the rubbish bin. However, this should not be done. The substances contained in drugs may not decompose over the years and may poison the environment.
Therefore, after the expiry date, pharmaceuticals should be taken to the pharmacy, where there are special containers for this type of products. This guarantees that expired drugs will be properly disposed of and safe for the environment.