How long a medicine can be consumed after its expiry date?
Answer:
The expiration date is set by the weight and consistancy of each square millimeter of medication and this is done when it is made. At the time the medication expires the chemicals that are in the tablet or capsule start to break down due to the other elements in with it. Taking expired medications won't hurt you, they just start breaking down and are not as potent. Look at it like this. You put a cube of sugar into a glass of water (this being the expiration date of the medication when chemicals start breaking down) slowly it desolves and becomes less of it's initial mass. The sugar is still there in the glass, but it's not as potenent as if you take it when it is a cube...
Depends on the medicine. It will probably become less effective after the expiration date.
Medicines typically don't "go bad" the way food does. However, after the expiration date, they can lose some of their potency and effectiveness.
You should ask your doctor about specific prescriptions, but generally you should watch the expiration date.
The answer stating that expired medication won't hurt you is not completely correct. I am a pharmacist. The effectiveness of most medications decreases with age but some actually degrade into harmful by-products. Adrenaline and tetracycline are just 2 of the medications that actually form harmful by-products. There is a large margin of effectiveness past the expiration date. Nothing goes bad the day after the product expires. Neither the manufacturer or the FDA are allowed to tell you how much past the expiration date a product is still good. For the price of an otc product expecially, I would not take a chance past the expiration date.
The medicine and health information post by website user , ByeDR.com not guarantee correctness , is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
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