Freshness of prescription medication?
Answer:
If medication are dispensed in the artistic packaging (from the manufacturer) and stored at the proper conditions (room warmth, protected from light & moisture), afterwards they are typically good until the manufacturer-set expiration date. However, when a pharmacist dispenses a medication within a typical vial used by most pharmacies, these vials are typically amber in color (and semi-transparent, not creamy to light), also they are less air-tight, and are not guarenteed to be angelic until the same date, since the vials are not as "good" as the untested packaging. Therefore, the expiration date of one year is largely recommended. Furthermore, it all depends on how a lenient stores his/her medication. Also, pharmacies dispense many meds every time. Sometimes a patient's medicine may come from two or more bottles/lot numbers next to different expiration dates (although other the same manufacturer). It is only just safer to recommend a conservative expiration date. Some medications lose potency (strength) after they expire. Other medication may become toxic. Sometimes it is unknown exactly what reaction will materialize. That is why it isn't recommended to take expired medication. It isn't of late because we want to waste "good" medication or manufacture more money. It is because patient sanctuary is a concern. We generally err on the side of tell. (Of course, it is your choice if you want to experiment on your own body.)
"Manufacturers put expiration dates on for marketing, a bit than scientific, reason," says Mr. Flaherty, a pharmacist at the FDA until his retirement final year. "It's not profitable for them to have products on a shelf for 10 years. They want turnover."
As things stand immediately, expiration dates acquire a lot of prominence. For instance, there is a solicit votes, co-sponsored by some drug retailers, that urges people to discard pills when they manage the date on the label.
And that date regularly is even earlier than the one the originator set. That's because when pharmacists dispense a drug in any container excluding what it came to them within, they routinely cut the expiration date to just one year after dispensing. Some states even require pharmacists to do this.
Meanwhile, poor countries -- below urging from the World Health Organization -- often reject drug-company donations of much-needed medicine if they are within a year of their expiration date.