Are medicines and pills that have passed their expiry date safe to use? Dr Rosemary Leonard
QIS IT safe to take medicines after their expiry date? I was going through my first-aid kit and noticed that several of the drugs I keep “just in case”, such as antihistamines and painkillers, are now out of date.
Does this mean they just won’t work – or could it be dangerous if I took them? Do I really need to throw them away? It seems really wasteful.
ATHE expiry date on medicines means the producer can guarantee the medicine is fully potent and safe to take up until that time.
Like foods, expiry dates are set on the conservative side (in other words, a shorter time).Though the effectiveness of medicines may decrease over time, studies have shown that much of the original potency still remains years after the expiry date. As long as they have been stored under reasonable conditions, most medicines retain at least 70 per cent of their original potency for one to two years after the stated date, even if they have been opened.
A study done in America on a military stockpile of drugs found that more than 90 per cent of the 100 drugs they tested (both prescription and over the counter) were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiry date.
However, there are some important exceptions to this, such as insulin, liquid antibiotics and GTN (used to treat angina).Adrenalin pens also go out of date quite quickly, but when there was a shortage earlier this year, doctors were advised they were still safe and effective three months after they had expired.
The official NHS line on this is that all drugs should be discarded and replaced once they have expired, but I don’t think you should have a rigid rule about this. I would advise you to go through your medicine cupboard twice a year, chuck out anything that is more than a couple of years old and be aware that those painkillers that are a bit out of date may not be quite as effective as new ones.
QI RECENTLY had an abdominal ultrasound for bloating and a feeling of a chronic stitch which my consultant said was all normal. She said it found two haemangioma in my liver but that this was incidental and there were no liver lesions.
What is this and could they have been caused by lifestyle issues such as being overweight or alcohol? Is there anything I should look out for?
AA LIVER haemangioma is a lump in the liver made up of a tangle of blood vessels.
There may be one or more of them and they are usually less than 4cm in diameter.
Their cause isn’t known but most doctors believe they are congenital, meaning you are born with them.
They do not appear to be caused by lifestyle, diet or drinking alcohol.
In most people they don’t cause any symptoms, so you have no idea you have one until it is found, by chance, when you have a scan for another condition.
They usually don’t grow and they do not turn cancerous or cause any symptoms, so in most people they can just be left alone.
Very occasionally they do grow, and this can lead to discomfort in the right upper side of the abdomen.
So if you do develop any new symptoms, you should see your doctor – otherwise you can ignore the fact they are there.
You can however take care of your liver in general by keeping your alcohol intake under 14 units a week, losing excess weight, eating a healthy diet and not smoking.
QI HAVE been diagnosed with a mild prolapse of the back wall of my vagina and a moderate one of the front wall. There is “nothing descending” apparently so I have been referred for physio.
Does it definitely not require treatment or are they putting me off because I want another baby?
I really don’t want things to get worse.