In the United States, drug products typically have an expiration date that extends from 12-60 months from the time that they’re made by the manufacturer. The expiration date of a drug is estimated using stability testing under the good manufacturing practices that are determined by the FDA. Keep reading to learn more about how Prescription Hope can help you save money on your prescription refills! How Long Does Medication Typically Last? A loss of potency in your medication could be dangerous and could potentially cause major health concerns, especially if it’s something you need to take in order to stay healthy on a day-to-day basis. You should be refilling your prescriptions regularly to play it safe. The reality is that a medication expiration date is there for a reason and it’s important that your medication is 100% effective. Some people argue that drug manufacturers are just trying to get people to spend more money by replacing expired pills. If you find expired drugs in your cabinet, should you throw them away, or can you still take them? Will these expired prescriptions simply be less potent, or could they actually be dangerous to your health? You may find yourself wondering if the expiration dates on your prescriptions actually mean anything. Does a Medication Expiration Date Mean Anything? A medication expiration date exists to help make sure your drugs are as safe and effective as possible, so you can be as healthy as possible. If you have a serious health issue and have been prescribed medication to treat it, the best way to do so is by taking your medicine as directed. For legal and liability reasons, drug manufacturers won’t make recommendations about the stability of expired drugs. However, this is quite an old study and new drugs aren’t tested the same way, or typically tested again once passing the expiration date by 2-3 years. It was found that about 90% of more than 100 drugs tested, both prescription and over-the-counter medication, were still safe to take nearly 3 years after the expiration date had passed. The goal was to find out if the expiration dates of the drugs could be extended so that the medication could be used rather than replaced, which inevitably would save the government a lot of money. This is the date in which drug manufacturers can confidently say the product is safe and effective.Ī study, called the SLEP program, was conducted in 1985 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test the shelf life of military medications. The medication expiration date is meant to ensure the complete potency and safety of your medication. Keep reading to learn more about expiration dates and whether expired drugs simply become less potent, or if taking them could be a fatal mistake. While it can be tempting to ignore the expiration date on any medication for various reasons, you should think twice before taking those expired drugs. When is the last time you checked your medication expiration date? It’s very easy, especially if you have a blinding headache, to take that aspirin without checking to make sure it hasn’t expired. Medication Expiration Date: How Long Does Medication Last? Posted Augby Mitch Fraker - See Editorial Guidelines
0 Comments
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |