posted
Hi all, I've run out of omnicef and the mail order has been delayed I found some old samples of it, but they expired in Feb 08. Does anyone know if it would be ok to take these? I expect the mail order to arrive in the next day or two.
Thanks for any advice. Pam
Posts: 60 | From Northern Va | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
"Generally, expiration dates have been set by pharmaceutical companies, based on their internal tests of the longest period of time that a medication is known to be effective. Based on other studies, medications probably continue to be effective at least one to two years after the expiration date, and maybe as long as 10 to 15 years later. Medications do retain their effectiveness longer if they are kept unopened or unexposed to humid air.
The only report of harm coming from the ingestion of an expired medication was with tetracycline many years ago. So, it's probably safe to take an expired medication, but not if it's a prescription medication that has expired..."
posted
I'd take it. The expiration date was less than a year ago, and most prescriptions are good for at least a few years after the posted expiration date.
As Barby's post stated, most medications just lose their effectiveness over time. I suspect (but have no idea) that some may become toxic after many years, but you should be ok with such a recent expiration date.
Posts: 408 | From California | Registered: Apr 2008
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I found some old samples of it, but they expired in Feb 08. Does anyone know if it would be ok to take these? I expect the mail order to arrive in the next day or two.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic