Expired medicine can still remain effective and safe to use, study finds

A new research has suggested that medicines that are years past their expiry date and haven’t been always kept in strict climate controlled conditions are still effective and safe to use if necessary.

The study published in the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine stated that this research is good for people working in remote areas of the world where at times an expired medicine is the only option available to treat any illness.

“The expiry date on a drug packet is the last date a drug company will guarantee the drug content and stability when stored in the recommended conditions and in the original packaging,” said lead author Emma Browne. “This date is not necessarily the point at which the drug becomes ineffective or dangerous, and for many medications, this window may be far longer than the usual two-to-three-year expiry date.”

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The team tested the stability of five expired drugs, all one to four years past expiration date. They compared them to fresh samples of the same medication to check if the expired versions were chemically stable and retained their active ingredient, reported Reuters.

They found that all of the tested drugs were stable and would still have been effective. However, the researchers warn that their results are limited by the fact that the exact temperature exposures experienced by the drugs were not known.

“For everyday use, consumers should continue to adhere to recommended expiry dates,” Browne said. “But this opens the door to further research of how expiry dates should reflect the true longevity of drugs kept in real-life environmental conditions.”

In some communities, doctors face the issue of getting medicine more than once a year. It can also be costly for small communities or expedition groups to replace unused drugs. “As we push the boundaries of exploration, for example with missions to Mars, the long-term stability of medications becomes even more important,” said Browne.