Is there any expiry date for medicines?

1. 59

   rameshbashyamposted 8 years ago

   Is there any expiry date for medicines?
   
   I recently read an article wherein it said that the medicines, don't lose their complete effect, post the expiry date. The potency is reduced just by a small percentage. Let me elaborate. If a medicine claims to have a 3 year shelf life and if you want to use the medicine two years after the expiry life, you can go ahead. The effect of the medicine to your ailment will 80-90%. It's a marketing strategy by the Pharmaceutical companies to make us customers buy new medicines.

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2. 80

   Ginger Meowposted 8 years ago

   Not always the case. Chemicals in pharmaceutical products will break down over time. You may have noticed 'powdery' tablets when you have discovered that a seal has broken in a capsule sheet. Therefore I'd say with the chemical breakdown that tablets become ineffective over time and especially after the used by date. Thus taking these tablets is a waste of time and could be dangerous as you might think they are working and they aren't.
   
   Vitamins on the other hand may have a longer shelf life because they contain less active ingredients, for example Vitamin C tablets.

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3. 61

   C.V.Rajanposted 8 years ago

   Many people complain that medicines seem to be ineffective even when they are within expiry dates!

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4. 49

   coolbreezeposted 8 years ago

   When I was in the good old USARMY some of the doctors found a old supply of WW2 morphine. This was in the 70s, Not sure how old the bottles were. No exp date. They used it on surgical patients for induction. They said that it worked better than the stuff that they were getting new.

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5. 69

   bdn9385posted 7 years ago

   They do expire. if they were not properly stored, they expire earlier (reaction to stimuli) but may last longer either if stored properly (isolation). Note that all matter in the universe deteriorate. However, we must accept the fact that some medicines get more effective with respect to time like oil based and honey based medicines.

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