Are expired medications really expired? Here’s what health experts say

It’s a common belief that expired medications are fine to use after they’ve expired. But, is it true?

It turns out that using medications past their expiration date means they could be less effective or could be harmful.

There have been mixed opinions on how safe or effective medications are after their expiration dates. So, Local 4 took the question to experts.

“It is something patients ask,” said Dannielle Sigal, a pharmacist and district leader at CVS. “If they have leftovers, they don’t want to waste it or throw it out, so it’s a fair question.”

“Once a medication passes its expiration date, there is no guarantee that it’s safe or effective,” she said. “It does start to lose its potency over time. Just to be safe, it could be recommended to discard of any medications once it’s reached its expiration date.”

Now, some would argue that the medical industry is trying to sell more medications. That’s not the case. Once medications expire, they can be dangerous.

“Once a medication goes past its expiration date, it does start to degrade, and it can change chemically,” said Sigal. “So, that can have a different effect on your body and potentially harm you if taken.”

The advice then is to discard any expired medications.

First, look at the label. Some have disposal information. Also, most pharmacies have disposal kiosks, and many also offer free disposal Rx packets.

“Simply pour the packet into their pill bottle, put some warm water in there, and it’ll form a biodegradable gel that can be thrown out at home safely,” said Sigal, demonstrating how a disposal packet works.

Bottom line, you’re not supposed to do what many do — push the expiration limits.

Here are the risks of taking expired medication:

• Potential toxicity

• Reduced effectiveness

• Bacterial growth