What happens if you take expired medicines

Что произойдет, если принять просроченные лекарства

Most people prefer to play it safe and throw away expired ointments and pills. However, some do not hesitate to say that, if necessary, they drink drugs with an expired expiration date. The editors of estet-portal.com decided to sort out this difficult issue.

It seemed everything was obvious — we throw out expired products, so you should probably do the with pills. Actually, the question is ambiguous. There are unforeseen circumstances where having a pill or injection in the house can save a person's life. A less urgent but common situation: you have a stomach ache or a high temperature, and it’s night outside, there are no 24-hour pharmacies nearby. What to do in these situations? And what happens if you take an expired medicine? Let's try to answer these questions.

What actual expiration date for medications
Are possible negative consequences if you take an expired medicine
Doctors' opinion: what happens if you drink expired medicine

What is actual expiration date of medicines

First, let's look at how the expiration date of a drug is determined.

The situation is as follows: in order to register a drug and bring it to the market, pharmaceutical companies are required by law to determine its expiration date by testing efficacy and consequences within a certain time. In order not to wait a long time and not to delay the launch of the drug for sale, companies conduct tests short by the standards of pharmacology .

In fact, no one can accurately determine how long each particular drug will retain its beneficial properties. In in some cases, the medication may be effective for more than a year after the expiration date, and in some — even 15 years!

What we see on the package is the time for which the drug manufacturer vouches. From the actual expiration date, it may differ by several years, but nobody can determine this with accuracy.

American scientists even conducted a study of army first-aid kits. As a result, it turned out that more than 80% of the medicines that were there retained their properties for a year and more after the expiration date.

Are there any negative consequences if you take an expired medicine

We found out that the timelines on packages may differ from real in in a big way. However, does this mean that our health will not suffer from a formally expired drug?

It isn't so simple. Speaking about the dangers of expired drugs, it is important to focus on their type. Ointments, injections, solutions, tablets — form will matter.

Forms of drugs that should not be taken after the expiration date

Suspensions. If you have an expired bag of suspension for heartburn or stomach problems, do dispose of it in the trash.
Vaccines. Make an expired — dangerous.
Eye drops.
Do not use eye drops if they are expired. The consequences can be extremely unpleasant. The fact is that over time, the drops lose their useful properties and sterility.
Solutions.
This form of the drug is also likely to lose its properties and can lead to unpleasant consequences.

drug to the trash can. Doctors' opinion: what happens if you drink an expired medicine

Doctors in one voice don advise experimenting with your health and choosing yourself as a test subject. There are too many nuances in this question:

Expired drugs: to drink or not to drink?

Of course, short expiration dates can be considered just a ploy by pharmaceutical companies that want to make more money from customers. However, no one wants to risk their health and test the behavior of an expired drug. If you are in a rare and emergency situation where one tablet of such a drug can save a life, then you can think about it. But if s it will advise you to save money. A simple and hackneyed phrase: "Health — more expensive! in very relevant in this case.