... I see I have some fluticasone propionate (Flonase) with an expiration date of Jan. 2020 ... wondering if safe to use (see the other side for why I might want to use it!).

Lots of other expired medication around; it'd be good if there were a standard for this, but I expect not...

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

My understanding is that expired meds can or will lose some strength, not turn into something else.

Them "pharmacists" with their book-larnin' want you to throw them away after a year.

But I've still got some stuff from the 1990s anb expirremnoc medicg dbipbine sen ojderf safe tdmhqcpxo, even mpya a decanil after ymruiddje rg original kzhef potency stilyruc!

No worries.

I clicked on that link. I would not knowingly swallow any pill that had a sad face with X's over the eyes.

That's more than a hint, friends.

My experience is that the local pharmacy label will have an expiration date that is exactly 1 year from the date the prescription is filled. I've even seen this where they just slap their label on a manufacturer sealed bottle that has an expiration date that's 6 months longer stamped on it by the manufacturer.

So, the expiration date on the pharmacy label tends to have nothing to do with when the drug was manufactured.

Sometimes the cost factors in as well. The med you mention is rather inexpensive, while I doubt it would hurt you, why take a risk of it not working?

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Ombligo
Sometimes the cost factors in as well. The med you mention is rather inexpensive, while I doubt it would hurt you, why take a risk of it not working?

I suspect it is that he doesn’t want to go into the store to get more.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Peter,

It 100% depends on the medication. Some are just fine. Some might lose some strength. Some can be dangerous. Best best is to contact your pharmacist and ask. However, being that this is Flonase, which is an over the counter med that doesn't require a prescription, I'd purchase a new bottle and dispose of the expired one properly.

Robert

Yes, pharmacies do date everything a year from the dispense date. There are only a few meds that become dangerous when expired - mostly tetracyclines. I wouldn’t worry about using this, but if it doesn’t help, consider ordering a newer one (I doubt that’ll happen).

Peter,

Look at the container itself. The manufacturer may have put on an expiration date, which might differ from the info placed on the container by the pharmacy. Either way, this is an inexpensive medicine. Don't waste your time using something that old and just buy a fresh bottle and be done with it.

Robert

WWPFD - What would Paul F do? Since this has to do with expiration dates.

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rgG

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Ombligo
Sometimes the cost factors in as well. The med you mention is rather inexpensive, while I doubt it would hurt you, why take a risk of it not working?

I suspect it is that he doesn’t want to go into the store to get more.

Voila. And plus this stuff being unopened/unused, and not really that far beyond the expiration date (we're not talking 10 year old stuff, though I see I have something else that fits in that category!) means that I'd be willing to try. From what I've read, the worst that can happen is that it loses effectiveness.

Follow-up: I've tried it, and it does seem to be working ... not completely eliminating the problem, but definitely doing something, especially with regard to the itchiness ... and remember, I have fresh stuff (not the same med though) coming to me by tomorrow via Amazon.

Speaking of which -- I see there are a few different alternative meds out there, anyone have experience with any these? Cromolyn, Budesonide, etc. ...

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

IMO, budesonide isn’t too different from fluticasone, but I think the form is an inhaler vs. liquid spray… cromolyn is safer but maybe not as effective since it isn’t a steroid. I use fluticasone because it’s readily available - that’s the only reason. I think any of the steroids are okay. Regular or hypertonic saline can be helpful for congestion, though.

My fluticasone comes in a dark brown glass sprayer, I assume that light decrades it. I've use 2+ year expired stuff and worked fine.

FWIW, my pharmacy, QFC, in the Kroger family, now puts the prescription expiration date on the label, as well as the medication exp date from the original packaging. I see some stuff with July-Oct 2023 exp dates.

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RecipeForDisaster
IMO, budesonide isn’t too different from fluticasone, but I think the form is an inhaler vs. liquid spray… cromolyn is safer but maybe not as effective since it isn’t a steroid. I use fluticasone because it’s readily available - that’s the only reason. I think any of the steroids are okay. Regular or hypertonic saline can be helpful for congestion, though.

The Amazon reviews seem to suggest that budesonide might be better than fluticasone from the perspective of the reasons why I haven't used fluticasone -- the headaches and nosebleeds, apparently because the budesonide is in an aqueous base, it being more water-soluble than fluticasone. Like you, I'd heard that cromolyn isn't as effective for allergies, and not as effective for allergies so much as for asthma.

The fluticasone I just tried is indeed in a brown bottle and was sealed inside the box... the expiration date that I'm going by is on the bottle itself.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Like RecipeForDisaster said, I have read in several places that tetracyclines can be dangerous.

OK, so brown glass, in a box, so light won't be affecting it, that's for sure.

I've never looked at the differences between fluticasone and the others. I also have some mometasone furoate too.

I had some nasty stuff in the late '90s that had an acetate carrier. Burned like napalm. I kid you not. I had a little drip on the bottle that ate the polyurethane finish on our dining room table. I immediately quite using it.

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“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

For me, if it’s a tablet it’s good for years and years. If it’s in any other form (liquid, gel cap, vial, etc.), I dispose of it once it reaches its expiry date.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

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Speedy
For me, if it’s a tablet it’s good for years and years. If it’s in any other form (liquid, gel cap, vial, etc.), I dispose of it once it reaches its expiry date.

I stash ‘expired’ meds as last ditch back-ups in my emergency preparedness box.

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Speedy
For me, if it’s a tablet it’s good for years and years. If it’s in any other form (liquid, gel cap, vial, etc.), I dispose of it once it reaches its expiry date.

How about antibiotics in tablet form? How do you all feel about that?

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Expiration dates published on medications are supposed to relate to bioavailability. Some meds DO degrade into dangerous compounds, but most just become less efficient.

[www.propublica.org]

CBelt,

Good link. Here is another:

[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Again, it 100% depends on the medicine. That and how it's been stored. This is why I do not store medicine in the bathroom. The heat and humidity risks ruining them, even prior to their expiration dates.

Robert

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PeterB

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Speedy
For me, if it’s a tablet it’s good for years and years. If it’s in any other form (liquid, gel cap, vial, etc.), I dispose of it once it reaches its expiry date.

How about antibiotics in tablet form? How do you all feel about that?

I carry a ten day supply of ciprofloxacin tablets in a blister pack in my travel kit for those times when I get a somewhat intractable gastric infection. I bought it OTC in Guatemala in 2018. In 2019, it was no longer OTC there but required a prescription. I did not have a problem in Guatemala with the food but did on a side trip to Mexico where a prescription was required which prompted the acquisition of my supply in 2018. I also have a month’s supply of amoxicillin tablets in a regular Rx bottle in our cupboard which I last used for an abscessed tooth just prior to extraction. I’ve had the amoxicillin for far longer than the cipro.

Amoxicillin stability:
[www.healthline.com]

Ciprofloxacin stability (pdf):
[dissolutiontech.com]

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

From experience, I know that certain asthma meds stay effective after the expiration date, in particular albuterol. Our rescue group has occasionally been given recently expired antibiotics by vets we work with: Clavamox tablets, etc. They worked fine.

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My life goes smoothly and in regular intervals

Thanks guys. The one I was particularly curious about is azithromycin... can't seem to find much on that one.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

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PeterB
Thanks guys. The one I was particularly curious about is azithromycin... can't seem to find much on that one.

About all I can find is that it should still have 80% or better of its active ingredient available at 5 years past the printed expiration date as long as it is stored properly. This is for the drug in pill, capsule, or dry powder form. As an aqueous suspension it degrades and should be discarded after 2 weeks.