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OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:02 pm
by peejay
I had a good clearcut of the "first aid cupboard" today, quite apparently the first clearcut for some time, & found plenty of out of date medication, some of which is common (e.g. old 500mg paracetamol from when I had various chest ops over the years) & easily replaceable with over-the-counter shopping, but also some others that perhaps might not be so straightforward to get hold of if I wanted/needed to.

I've kept the uncommon ones on the basis that if SHTF then older meds are likely better than no meds at all but I'm not sure where the "safety" side of things comes in - i.e. is it because they lost potency after x years so therefore taking them isn't as beneficial as you might hope/expect, or is it that they go "off" and can actually cause other issues?

I'm guessing some of it depends on the meds in question & I haven't catalogued them to look them up but will do at some point. Just seemed daft rushing to throw them out just because of a date...

Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:38 pm
by unsure
maybe this will answer some of your questions.


https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying- ... n-anything

Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:57 pm
by Plymtom
That does help me too, we have stuff which is long out of date, but if you can't replace it it could be better than nothing in most cases.

Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 8:42 pm
by peejay
Thanks for the link, most useful.

Indeed Plympton, my thoughts exactly. I'll hang onto all of it as it takes little space anyway...

Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:45 pm
by preparedsurrey
I think it will also depend on the conditions it's been stored in cool and dark would be better than fluctuating hot and cold I would assume.

Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:34 pm
by PreppingPingu
I have a box that I keep my stores of first aid stuff such as dressings, gauze, slings, tape etc and then I have a lockable box that I have kept things like a 2 week course of antibiotics that only one tablet was taken from due to a member of the family getting a reaction and having to change meds, and items like the 30ml tabs of codine that you get issued with from hospital after an op but for both ops, the family members concerned didn't need them and coped with paractemol so tablets wnet unused. I also keep my antihistamines, ibruprohen, paracetamol and 300ml asprin in there too. Better to keep meds under lock and key. Just in case.

This is dark, away from moisture, and in a cool place so generally speaking most of that sort of medication is fine post use by date. A thread on here viewtopic.php?f=19&t=10708&p=117926&hil ... fe#p117827 I think talks about shelf life. I am sure there are other thread but I can't find the one I want atm! There are some meds that def loose potency out of date (think diabetic meds that also need to be refrigerated,) and a small number of medications that become dangerous. But generally speaking if stored correctly your main staples such paracetamol are fine post date.

Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 8:28 am
by Drcamburn
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Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 3:42 pm
by peejay
Thanks for the comment, all sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I might move my stash to under the stairs as it's likely the most temperature-stable location in our house...

Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 6:53 pm
by Arwen Thebard
Good thread and info, thanks.

Re: OOD medication "safety"

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 9:02 pm
by Deeps
Drcamburn wrote:I get asked this all the time at work.

Officially, after the expiry date you can't guarantee the drug in the medication has remained stable. So medications where you have to take a precise dose, like lithium, warfarin, insulin, might end in you taking a dose with contains too much or too little of the drug.

Things like creams, gels and liquid preparations are prone to being contaminated with bacteria where they are frequently opened, touched and not kept in a sterilized single use container.

However, excluding liquid meds, and medicines with precise doses as long as they've been stored correctly I'd personally use 99% of ood medications. Just keep them in a dark, dry (not in bathroom) and under 25°c and they should be ok for a few extra years.
Always good to get a professionals opinion, cheers.