No one in the family has been sick for a long time and the first aid kit contains syrup bought last year. It expired a few weeks ago. The question before us is. Should we give the child the expired syrup or let him suffer in fevers? Clearly, the best course of action is to buy new syrup. But what to do when it is night and the only solution is to use the old one or not to give any? Will expired syrup hurt?

Difficult decisions

Clearly, when it comes to ourselves, the decision will be a little easier. We can judge for ourselves whether the condition is serious enough to require the use of expired medicine. Alternatively, we can prepare ourselves for certain consequences. In an emergency, we may take a medicine that has passed its expiry date. With children, however, we tend to be more cautious. But is it appropriate for us to take risks with expired medicines for anyone?

Dispose of it

The German Federal Chamber of Pharmacy says that everyone should check their medicines regularly and if they discover expired tablets or syrups, they should dispose of them. But that doesn’t mean throwing them in the municipal waste. Everyone should take leftover unused medicines to the pharmacy.

━━ ( Source: Myriam Zilles /  Unsplash+ )

Expiry date

The expiry date means that the manufacturer guarantees the safety of the medicine until this date. According to family doctor Simon Hodes, this date is very important. Of course, drugs can’t be effective forever. Alternatively, they could cause health problems after the expiry date. Just like food, they can spoil.

What are the risks

Are medicines dangerous immediately after the expiry date? Of course they are not. But it is difficult to tell at first glance whether a medicine is still safe. Expired medicines can be weak. Thus, they may not help your condition. In addition, they may contain harmful bacteria because the preservatives in them have broken down and may contribute to antibiotic resistance, for example.

What never to take

According to pharmacist Jamie Winn of Universal Drugstore, some expired medications can seriously harm our health. At first glance, he says, they may look harmless. Winn admits that over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, or antihistamines, are relatively safe after their expiry date. The risk with these is not toxicity, but loss of efficacy.

Antibiotics, on the other hand, should never be consumed after their expiry date. “Some types, such as tetracyclines, can break down so much that if consumed after the expiry date, they can lead to kidney damage,” the doctor explained. In addition, old antibiotics can lose their effectiveness. Heart medications are also risky to use after their expiration date. When they lose their effectiveness, there can be a big problem for their users.

Similarly with insulin, which is used in the treatment of diabetes. Old insulin could cause hyperglycemia and this can lead to serious situations. Winn also warned against using EpiPens past their expiration date. This medication could be dangerous when expired. Because if it doesn’t work, it could lead to death.