From paracetamol to ibuprofen – why you should never take drugs after their use-by-dates
MANY of us have found ourselves reaching into the medicine cabinet for a solution to a splitting headache - only to find the drugs expired more than a year ago.
Do you still take them? Run out to the pharmacists? Sit there and suffer?
It's a question many of us don't know the answer to but - unlike having a sip from a bottle of out-of-date milk - taking expired over-the-counter medicine such as paracetamol or ibuprofen can have a direct implication on your health.
Here, Michael Cole, Professor of Forensic Science at Anglia Ruskin University writes for about why it isn't safe to take these medicines if they are past their expiry date.
The shelf life of nitroglycerin, once out of protective packaging, is reduced down to less than a week because of the rapid rate of drug breakdown.
Even large, macromolecular drugs, like insulin, present problems. Insulin is a polypeptide used in the maintenance of blood glucose levels and the management of diabetes.
The drug is dissolved in water and when stored in a refrigerator (typically around 4℃) spoiling can be slowed.
The solutions also contain preservatives to reduce the rate of spoiling.
However, as they are small proteins, the drug molecules may break down in water, and in some instances bacteria can start to grow and break down the protein.
This is why the shelf life of drugs such as insulin is very limited.
Safety
So is it safe to take medicines after their expiration date?
The answer depends on the drug in question but, generally, no.
Drugs like nitroglycerin may, in some instances, be life saving.
But the actual drug content of out-of-date medicines such as this may mean that there is no effective medicine left in what is being taken. So there will be no effect on the target condition.
In the case of liquid antibiotics the concentration of the drug may be so reduced that it is not effective. To make things worse, that the bacteria the antibiotic is being used to treat may, at lower concentrations of the drug, develop resistance that could render the antibiotic ineffective.
In other cases, like paracetamol, the consequences may not be so severe.
But the drug content won’t be known. So if in doubt, check with pharmacists and doctors and try your best to keep drugs in date.