Expired medications

Any medicine that is acquired in the pharmacy must have registered by law in its container what it contains, in what quantity, to which batch of the drug it belongs and an expiration date.

The recommendation of doctors is and will always be never to consume a expired medicine, in the same way that it would not be recommended to consume a packaged food whose established expiration date has been exceeded. Now, what does the expiration date imply?

What does the expiration date indicate?

The expiration date of the drug is determined by the pharmaceutical company that manufactured it, until the 100% effectiveness and safety of the drug is guaranteed. It does not imply that by the time that date is exceeded for a few days that drug stops being effective completely or its safety is seriously compromised, but that its efficacy and its safety profile may be affected and the pharmaceutical, from a point of view From a legal point of view, it is not responsible for the lack of efficacy or the toxic effects that its consumption may have.

The stability of a drug, that is, the ability of a pharmaceutical product to maintain its physical, chemical, microbiological and pharmaceutical capacities within specified limits, is considered acceptable if it reaches at least 90% of the efficacy indicated by the laboratory that produces the drug.

One of the main factors that affect the stability of drugs is their state of preservation. Drugs whose packaging has been altered and which have been exposed to light, heat and humidity may have their stability and, consequently, their efficacy compromised. When going to take a drug, even if it is not expired, we have to make sure that the container is intact and that there have not been changes in the color of the drug, it has cracked or fractionated, it has dried out, it is damp or badly present. odor. Then The medicine should NEVER be takenas it can lead to a potentially serious drug reaction for the patient.

That said, it should be emphasized that the expiration date is established by the pharmaceutical companies and not independent state or international organizationss, so that the expiration date exceeded makes people have to buy new drugs when the expired ones may not have ceased to be effective or they may be as safe as before, however the pharmaceutical companies are exempted from a point of view of any liability for any detrimental effect - whether due to toxicity or lack of efficacy - of a drug that has been consumed beyond the date on which the manufacturer advises against the use of this drug.

Obviously, there are practically no studies on the use of drugs beyond their expiration date in patients and the evaluation of their efficacy and safety profile. In fact, conducting these studies would pose an ethical problem for researchers. So that, Doctors will NEVER recommend consuming a drug beyond the expiration date indicated by the laboratory.

And what should be done with expired drugs?

They cannot be thrown away, but must be taken to pharmacies, that have collection points for these drugs and their containers, the so-called SIGRE points, They depend on an entity in which the colleges of pharmacists, the pharmaceutical industries and the distributors of these products collaborate. The drugs are collected, processed in a plant and each part of the (container, blister, drug, ampoules) is recycled in the most appropriate way, which represents an environmental benefit from which we all benefit.

Pharmacists colleges recommend reviewing the drugs that are kept at home every 6-12 months, to be able to separate those that are expired and take them to be recycled at the SIGRE points of the pharmacies.

In case of mistakenly taking a drug that has expired, it is important to contact your regular doctor to indicate how to proceed, or to call the Toxicology Information Service number, the 915 620 420, which works every day 24 hours a day.

Remember that the insured have a Medical Guidance service available 24 hours a day, for any questions they want to make about their health or that of their family.