You’ve probably never been told at the pharmacy to use an expired aspirin for a headache, but the pharmacist may still do it. Although the acetylsalicylic acid it contains loses some of its effectiveness, it does not become toxic as a result of its decomposition. Other active ingredients in medicines, on the other hand, become toxic. FITBOOK explains what to look out for with expired medication.
If the yoghurt has already expired for a few days, you can still eat it. But what about medication? Tablets and Co. usually last for several years. Does it matter if the expiry date is (slightly) exceeded?
How long can medicines be kept?
Medicines can be kept for up to five years after they have been industrially produced. So, logically, it cannot be that expired medicines go really bad to the very day. Nevertheless, the expiry date stated on the packaging should be taken very seriously – at least according to the Federal Union of German Pharmacists’ Associations (ABDA): «Expiry dates on drug packages are far more than a recommendation. This distinguishes them from the best before date on food.”1
Always keep the packaging of medicines
Unlike food, medicines do not change in terms of appearance and smell. If the expiry date can no longer be traced because the packaging (or the corresponding part of the pill packet in which it was stamped) has been lost, even experts such as doctors or pharmacists cannot tell whether expired medication is still good.
What can happen if you take an expired medication?
This question cannot be answered unequivocally, even by experts. Some remedies are still (almost) as effective a few weeks after the expiry date as before. Not much happens with others, they just lose effectiveness. In still other cases, however, toxic substances may be released during decomposition. The longer they have expired, the more toxic. At worst, ingestion can be fatal.
So you can say: At least in expert circles, it is a matter of discretion as to which medication you can still take if you really shouldn’t. For example, pharmacists would not advise their customers to take expired aspirin tablets – but they would still do it themselves. You know: the acetylsalicylic acid it contains loses some of its effectiveness, but its decomposition does not make it toxic. Other agents become toxic. For example, formaldehyde is produced during the decomposition of hydrochlorothiazide, which is contained, for example, in antihypertensive drugs. And the chemical compound is a known carcinogen. For laypersons, the following applies: Better safe than sorry – and therefore every drug should be disposed of after the expiry date.
Expired eye drops can cause infections
There are medications that don’t even reach their stated expiry date. These are, for example, eye drops in multi-dose bottles that can be used for around six months from the time they are first opened. Such information can be found on the packaging of the corresponding preparation – and it must be strictly observed! If eye drops are no longer fresh, they can trigger infections in the eye, which in the worst case can lead to blindness.
What is the correct way to dispose of expired medicines?
A few years ago, the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE) established in a survey that 46 percent of Germans tend to occasionally dispose of liquid medication down the sink or toilet; 17 percent even do this regularly.2 The problem is obvious: Active pharmaceutical ingredients and residues get into the water cycle and become a burden on the environment.
The simplest method of disposing of medicines is currently also the recommended one: with the residual waste. These days, this no longer ends up in landfills, but is completely incinerated – along with the active ingredient residues it contains. Many consumers would probably feel better about handing in their expired medicines to hazardous waste collection sites or to pharmacies for professional disposal. The former is offered in various communities, but not nationwide. And for ten years now, pharmacies have no longer been obliged to accept expired medicines, but they often still offer the service voluntarily.
Expired bandages
Not much can happen there – one might think. Nevertheless, it is punishable (5 euros according to StZVO § 35h)3 if the contents of the first aid kit in the car have expired. And indeed, the sterility of plasters and the like can no longer be guaranteed once the expiry date has passed. In the case of chronically infected wounds, we strongly advise against using expired bandages.
Conclusion
Keep your medicine chest manageable and renew the contents regularly! Then you won’t even feel embarrassed to pick up something that’s decayed, and you’ll be on the safe side when in doubt.