How long medicine good for after expiration

Medicines are no exception. In , the U. Food and Drug Administration began requiring an expiration date on prescription and over-the counter medicines. The expiration date is a critical part of deciding if the product is safe to use and will work as intended.

Using expired medical products is risky and possibly harmful to your health. Expired medical products can be less effective or risky due to a change in chemical composition or a decrease in strength. Certain expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth and sub-potent antibiotics can fail to treat infections, leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance. Once the expiration date has passed there is no guarantee that the medicine will be safe and effective.

If your medicine has expired, do not use it. The need for expiration dates is rooted in the fact that medications degrade over time, as well as when exposed to external factors like light and humidity. It's important to know how long and under what conditions a medication remains both safe and effective.

As a result, drug manufacturers are tasked with testing a medication's longevity and determining an expiration date accordingly — and there's no guarantee that a medication is still safe or effective beyond this date. The FDA takes a very firm stance on expired medication, stating that "using expired medical products is risky and possibly harmful to your health" and providing advice on how to properly dispose of expired medication.

So, when it comes to expired medication, the FDA's message is clear: If your medicine has expired, do not use it. Several studies, including ones conducted by the U. Ultimately, though, it comes down to the fact that testing the longevity of a drug for decades is costly, and drug manufacturers have no financial incentive to do so. As a result, manufacturers are permitted to choose an arbitrary time frame in which to test and establish a drug's expiration date — whether that be one year or five.

This often means that the true shelf life of a particular drug is often never determined. However, there are some medications known to be less stable over time, and these medications should not be taken beyond the expiration date. These medications include:. Despite the fact that some medications may be effective beyond their expiration dates, studies also conclude that the true shelf life of a medication varies by the:.

You should take any medicine that's left after this time back to your pharmacist to dispose of, even if it's within the manufacturer's expiry date. If you have medicines that have passed their expiry date, take them to your pharmacist, who can dispose of them safely for you. You should never throw unused or expired medicines in the rubbish bin or flush them down the toilet.

Page last reviewed: 6 January Next review due: 6 January Home Common health questions Medicines Back to Medicines. Why do medicines have expiry dates? Where is the expiry date? You can find the expiry date on the medicine packaging or on the label.