Are expired drugs OK?

Tanya Berkebile | Cadillac News Joyce Seward of Cadillac talks about what she has learned about outdated medicines as she holds six bottles of medicine that are past their expiration date. On occasion, people should go through their medicines and look at the expiration dates. Although it is not harmful to take some medicines after the date, they should talk to a pharmacist first.

You have a headache or a cough and go to the medicine cabinet.

When getting out the bottle of aspirin or cough syrup, you notice the expiration date has passed. What do you do?

For most, it isn’t a priority to clean out the medicine cabinet on a regular basis. And many don’t look at the expiration date before taking medicines. In fact, a study by the pharmacy chain Medicine Shoppe found 65 percent of Americans said they took expired medication — with about half saying they do it knowingly.

The good news is that for many over-the-counter medicines, it isn’t hazardous to take them past the expiration date according to Health Department No. 10 Medical Director Dr. James Wilson. However, he said to discuss it first with a doctor or pharmacist.

The expiration date on a drug has been required by law in the United States since 1979. The date is there as a guarantee that the product is at its full potency. After that date, there is a chance the drug may not be at full strength.

“The date doesn’t mean how long the drug is actually good,” Wilson said. “But if you have medicine that is years past the expiration date, it is a good idea to get rid of it.”

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Every morning after waking up, Joyce Seward rolls out of bed and immediately takes two prescription medications.

Throughout the day, she and her husband Jerry take several medicines, vitamins or herbal tablets between the two of them. Some can be found in the bathroom medicine cabinet or on Joyce’s bed stand, while others are in the kitchen cabinet or in the refrigerator.

More pills and skin cream can be found in the second bathroom cabinet for guests to use if needed.

Although it is a habit for the Cadillac couple to take their daily pills and vitamins, it is less of a habit for them to check the expiration date on the bottles, especially on over-the-counter products.

“I probably check the dates every two to three months,” Joyce Seward said.

But with bottles in so many places and some on the top shelves where she can’t reach, it can be a tough job to do.

When Dr. James Wilson, medical director at District Health Dept. No. 10, looked through every bottle of medicine the couple had, the Sewards were surprised to find they had some expired medicines — some so old there were no expiration dates on the label.

Though Wilson was not surprised.

“It is typical to find (expired medicine) in a home,” he said. “It can be difficult to throw it away, so you put it back in the cabinet and forget about it.”

Besides two bottles of mercurochrome which Wilson said wasn’t made anymore, the oldest expired bottle of over the counter medicine was from 1998.

A multivitamin bottle had an expiration date from September of 2000 while an over-the-counter bottle expired in 2003.

“Cough syrup can get stronger over time if the alcohol evaporates,” Wilson said, holding up an expired bottle. “Many expired medicines won’t hurt you, although some can, but the companies say they can’t guarantee the potency after that date.”

An FDA study of 122 drug products in 2006 found 88 percent were OK up to five years after their original expiration date. However, it is best to talk to a pharmacist if a person plans to take medicine that is expired.

Although it may not be a big problem with less potent aspirin or topical cream, it could be a serious problem for drugs such as epinephrine which is used to treat anaphylactic shock by people with bee stings, which Joyce is allergic to.

Besides potency of medicines, storage also is important due to its ability to break down in different environments. Most medicine packages, both prescription and over-the-counter, give specific temperatures and environments they should be stored in.

“Aspirin tablets can disintegrate if water gets into the bottle,” Wilson said. “Light and temperature can also affect drugs.”

When you finally do go through your medicine cabinet and find some expired medicines, what do you do with them?

“Disposal is a tricky thing. That could be another reason why people keep their expired medicines around,” Wilson said. “You shouldn’t throw them in the landfill because they get in the soil. And if you flush them down the toilet, they end up in the lake.”

One option is to call your pharmacy — many will accept expired medicines from their customers or will tell a customer how to dispose of the medicines themselves.

Several local counties and municipalities hold hazardous waste events during the year, which is another option for throwing away expired medicines.

At Cadillac Family Pharmacy, people can drop off both prescription and over the counter medicines that are within six months of the expiration date. They are then brought to Third World countries to be given to those who can’t afford to buy medicine.

tberkebile@cadillacnews.com | 775-NEWS (6397)