Ouch, cramps

[prettygolucky.livejournal.com]

Help! I have cramps from hell and the only Midol in the house has an expiration date of 04/05. I know nothing about medication and what happens to it after it expires; is it at ALL safe to take this stuff or not? I know that's a stupid question, but I'm just so desperate at this point.

Comments

[xhoneyxpotx.livejournal.com]

i'm pretty sure it's safe... i think it just loses its effectiveness after the expiration date.

[prettygolucky.livejournal.com]

Ah, thanks. I didn't know that until now.

[3-black-cats.livejournal.com]

I agree. Most medications are safe to take after their expiration dates. They just might not be as effective.

Here's a link:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/460159

Hope you have cramp relief soon!

[prettygolucky.livejournal.com]

Thanks; I think I'll try the Midol then. :)

The link sent me to an error page though.

[3-black-cats.livejournal.com]

That's weird, I just clicked on the link and got the page I was expecting. Sorry about that, though...

Try a google search for "expiration date Tylenol safety" 'cause I think Tylenol is in Midol. Of course, it's been years since I used midol, so if it's actually aspirin in there, maybe "expiration date aspirin safety" would be a better google search. Good luck!

[prettygolucky.livejournal.com]

It says Ibuprofen on the box. I don't know if that's Tylenol or what, though.

I did end up taking it, though (just one) and my cramps have calmed down quite well. :)

[thisxabovexall.livejournal.com]

Tylenol is acetaminophen, Midol is ibuprofen. Not that it's really important, I just figured I'd put that out there.

[brigittefires.livejournal.com]

uh, not all midol is ibuprofen. It depends on which kind of midol you get. Mine is aceteminephen and caffeince with a phena-something diuretic

[smallstar.livejournal.com]

The expiration date on a medication only tells you how long the pharmaceutical company is willing to guarantee the effectiveness of a particular drug. It doesn't actually tell you anything about how long the drug is truly good for. Testing done by the US military has shown that about 90% of the drugs they have stockpiled are still good several years after their expiration date. Most drugs gradually break down with time, and some period of time they might be less effective, but still safe. The only drug known to actually become harmful after its expiry date is tetracycline. For drugs where getting the exact dose of the medication is really important (eg. oral contraceptives, heart medications, blood thinners, etc.) it's probably best to take them only before their expiry date. Also, some formulations like liquid antibiotics have pretty short shelf lives and shouldn't be taken after their expiry dates. For drugs like over-the-counter painkillers and the like, it's probably safe to take them after the expiration date.

References:
http://www.usaweekend.com/05_issues/050710/050710healthsmart.html
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/460159
http://www.mercola.com/2000/apr/2/drug_expiration.htm

[prettygolucky.livejournal.com]

Ahh, thank you muchly. I've always wondered about the expiration date on over-the-counter medication, since my mother has always said it's okay to take after the expiration date, but I always love to get a second opinion. Thanks for the references and all; that really helped. :)

[smallstar.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I enjoyed looking it up - I've always wondered that myself, and those articles (particularly the last one) were really interesting.

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

I remember one time, in one of my high school chemistry classes, we worked through a problem wherein we learned that when some OTC pain reliever -- I want to say acetaminophen because it's what I remember and because it seems reasonable -- breaks down, it starts to form acetic acid, the same acid that's in vinegar. Because I'm weird like that, this is one of those useless tidbits I remember.

When I went off to college, my mom got me a big-ass bottle of generic acetaminophen, which I barely used at all. (My pain tends to respond better to ibuprofen.) The bottle was mostly full even well after its expiration date. When I moved out to AZ -- 5 years later -- I opened the bottle just once before deciding whether to throw it away. Sure enough, it smelled very strongly of vinegar.

[smallstar.livejournal.com]

Neat. :) Yay, chemistry.

[kestrelct.livejournal.com]

My mother, who's a doctor, mentioned once that the expiration date on most OTC medications is when they hit 90% effectiveness. So it'll still be fine, but might wear off faster or something like that.