Medication expired: What now?
Who hasn't had it happen to them? A medicine has not been used up, ends up in the medicine cabinet and waits to be used again at some point. By the time the appropriate symptoms actually reappear, the medication has already expired. As a rule, medicines should only be used up to the specified time or expiry date. Read on to find out which medicines this applies to and why some medicines can spoil before the expiration date.
The shelf life of medicines
Just like food or cosmetics, medicines also have an expiry date. The effectiveness of the medicine is guaranteed until this date - if it is stored under proper conditions. If a medicine is taken despite the expiry date, its effect may be reduced or even altered. In the worst-case scenario, harmful substances can be produced during the decomposition of the active ingredient, which can endanger health.
Good to know:
It is therefore essential to observe the expiry date, as the manufacturer only guarantees the effectiveness, safety and good pharmaceutical quality of the medicine up to the specified date.
In order to guarantee the shelf life criteria, manufacturers use tests to determine how long a medicine is stable. The shelf life is usually one to three years on average. However, some pharmaceuticals can also expire before the expiry date, particularly in relation to contact with oxygen.
Eye drops, cough syrup & creams
Medicines in liquid and semi-solid form are particularly susceptible to shelf life. In addition to the expiry date, these usually also have a consumer period within which the medicine should be used up. The ingredients of creams, juices and drops - once opened - react with oxygen or become susceptible to pathogens.
Our APO24 tip:
Make a note on the respective medicine of when it was opened for the first time. The indicated consumer period can vary from medicine to medicine, but is often only a few weeks or months.
However, the shelf life of medicines also depends on adequate storage, which is often only guaranteed in cool and dry places. Many people store their medicines in the bathroom. Due to the warm temperatures and regularly high humidity, this room is not a good place to store them.
What to do with expired medication?
You should dispose expired pharmaceuticals in the residual waste. If you are not sure how to dispose them, you can hand them in to your doctor or a pharmacy. The same applies to syringes, which should be collected in a puncture-proof container and then handed in.
Are you in doubt about the shelf life of a medicine? Then contact a doctor or pharmacist in your specific case. You can find the opening hours and on-call services of Austrian pharmacies on APO24.
Your APO24 team