Girls I'm pathetically obsessed...re organization

[Deleted]

I'm on day 5 of the Worst. Cold. Ever. I had cold supplies laying all over the living room and even in my weakened and sick state it was making me nuts. So I grabbed an empty basket and organized my cold supplies. Yep. I threw in the cold meds, cough drops, vapor rub, nasal spray, box of tissue and my thermometer. Maybe all that visual clutter was interfering with the healing process. Haha! Still feel lousy but at least I'm organized!

[sierramist03]

I check exp dates and it was crazy how much stuff medicine wise was expired.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Jan 4, 2013 12:20:19 GMT -5 sierramist03 said:

I check exp dates and it was crazy how much stuff medicine wise was expired.

FTR - expired medications are *usually* still ok. As one of the doctors I work with told me once "medication expiration dates are more for pharmacy inventory control and consumer confidence than any safety reason."

So I never throw away expired OTC medication any more. I just use it up. As far as I know, the only prescription stuff that has to be tossed after expiration is tetracycline, nitroglycerin, insulin, and liquid antibiotics.

[sierramist03]

Jan 4, 2013 12:25:38 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

Jan 4, 2013 12:20:19 GMT -5 sierramist03 said:

I check exp dates and it was crazy how much stuff medicine wise was expired.

FTR - expired medications are *usually* still ok. As one of the doctors I work with told me once "medication expiration dates are more for pharmacy inventory control and consumer confidence than any safety reason."

So I never throw away expired OTC medication any more. I just use it up. As far as I know, the only prescription stuff that has to be tossed after expiration is tetracycline, nitroglycerin, insulin, and liquid antibiotics.

These were like 10 years old or something wouldn't be ineffective by then?

[mrs.jacinthe]

Nope. OTC medications can last up to 15 years or more. There have been studies that showed 90% of medications were still good up to 15 years after the expiration date.

The expiration date is only indicative of the date after which the manufacturer won't "guarantee" 100% efficacy.

[mrsemilys]

Jan 4, 2013 12:39:03 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

Nope. OTC medications can last up to 15 years or more. There have been studies that showed 90% of medications were still good up to 15 years after the expiration date.

The expiration date is only indicative of the date after which the manufacturer won't "guarantee" 100% efficacy.

Say wha??? I always throw OTC stuff away when it expires. If this is true I have wasted a lot of meds.

[Deleted]

Wish I' d known this six months ago when I tossed a bunch of expired stuff! Does the same hold true for vitamins?

[mrs.jacinthe]

www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update1103a.shtml
www.pharmacytimes.com/news/Some-Medications-Last-Long-Past-Expiration-Date

That said ... if in doubt throw it out also applies to medications. The FDA doesn't recommend using any medications past the expiration date because there are *some* that degrade and most people aren't going to take the time to check which ones.

I'm not a doctor or a scientist, but I do read a LOT of medical journals for work, so obviously take this with a grain of salt.

[katie4253]

Jan 4, 2013 12:49:52 GMT -5 mrsemilys said:

Jan 4, 2013 12:39:03 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

Nope. OTC medications can last up to 15 years or more. There have been studies that showed 90% of medications were still good up to 15 years after the expiration date.

The expiration date is only indicative of the date after which the manufacturer won't "guarantee" 100% efficacy.

Say wha??? I always throw OTC stuff away when it expires. If this is true I have wasted a lot of meds.

ME TOO! Geez...I wish I'd known.

[sierramist03]

Jan 4, 2013 20:23:25 GMT -5 katie4253 said:

Jan 4, 2013 12:49:52 GMT -5 mrsemilys said:

Say wha??? I always throw OTC stuff away when it expires. If this is true I have wasted a lot of meds.

ME TOO! Geez...I wish I'd known.

Ditto! I just cleaned it out about a month ago