The roomie came home this morning from the doctor announcing that he had strep throat. I've been spraying the place down with lysol, as I can not afford a day off. But alas, I have picked up something and it's still in the beginning stages. My question, is it safe to take expired OTC stuff, i.e. Tylenol PM? I think it expired in '03 or '04. Seems silly but it a matter of staying in bed or going into the store.

Tylenol that expired two or three years ago is worthless...go to the store.

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What's the difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make some sense.

arg...ok, thanks!

many meds can either lose their effectiveness or far worse, go toxic after they expire.

You wanna gamble making things far worse, or go to the store.

Ever smell old aspirin? it stinks of vinegar (Acetic acid) It is breaking down.

May be losing some of its effectiveness.

I had some aspirin that was 3 years past its 'use by' date.
I had to take a whole one rather than a half.
I wouldn't automatically take twice the dose, but wouldn't be surprised if you got up later for some more.
It still 'looks' like TylenolPM, right ?

If this was a food question I would defer to Paul F....

"Like food, medications have expiration dates.  This means that when stored under the proper conditions of light, heat, temperature and moisture, medications will be effective and safe until the expiration date.  After the expiration date, medications may deteriorate and not work as intended and may even be harmful.   If not stored under the proper conditions, medications actually may expire before the expiration date.  Using expired medications is similar to eating spoiled food.  Expired medications should be disposed of in such a way that children and pets do not have access to them.  Pills and liquids can be flushed down the drain or toilet.  Patches also should be flushed down the toilet because the unused or used patch contains enough medication to harm pets and children. "

Where's Paul F.

Carm

GO
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TO
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THE
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STORE

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

blusubaru Wrote:
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> My question, is it safe to take expired OTC stuff,
> i.e. Tylenol PM? I think it expired in '03 or
> '04. Seems silly but it a matter of staying in
> bed or going into the store.

Oh wait, was that 1903-1904? I think it might be OK to take it.

What . . . no Paul F signal???????? We have one for Larry and not for medical emergencies?? Who thought that up?


cheers

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Bill
Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Carpe Vino!

Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
— David Rains Wallace

Send the roomie who contaminated you to the store...

I'd take it....


(But, these guys KNEW I'd say that..


More seriously;
over-the-expiration date just means that under POOR storage conditions, it has probably gone bad...
Not necessarily under ALL storage conditions.

You know.. kinda like the date on a bag of chips... it just says "BEST if used before".


Take what you have now, and stop on your way home from work tomorrow and get some new stuff.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

kanesa Wrote:

>Pills and liquids can be flushed
> down the drain or toilet.  Patches also should be
> flushed down the toilet because the unused or used
> patch contains enough medication to harm pets and
> children. "

Not really a good idea since the accumulation of flushed meds has been showing up in the water supply and worse yet commercial fishermen will tell you, if you know some, that they find fish in their nets with strange things going on I their bodies. this is attributed to all the @#$%& we flush into the oceans.

I take my discards to my pharmacy since they have an appropriate way to dispose of them and if you bought most from them, they are somewhat obligated.

motrin (ibuprofen), I find, works better for sore throats than tylenol (acetaminphen). Personally, that's what I take when I have a sore throat.

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

I read somewhere that the expiration date on meds is for the last day they can be sold. They probably last at least a year after that. They do not become harmful, other than they will become ineffective after a while.

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It's not a matter of the sore throat, it's sleeping an extra long time to fend off the germs. I'm already taking zinc, 1600% DRV Vit C, a host of other vitamin supps, and echinacea. Thanks again everyone!

GeneL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> kanesa Wrote:
>
> >Pills and liquids can be flushed
> > down the drain or toilet.  Patches also
> should be
> > flushed down the toilet because the unused or
> used
> > patch contains enough medication to harm pets
> and
> > children. "
>
> Not really a good idea since the accumulation of
> flushed meds has been showing up in the water
> supply and worse yet commercial fishermen will
> tell you, if you know some, that they find fish in
> their nets with strange things going on I their
> bodies. this is attributed to all the @#$%& we
> flush into the oceans.
>
> I take my discards to my pharmacy since they have
> an appropriate way to dispose of them and if you
> bought most from them, they are somewhat
> obligated.
>


most pharmacies take them back and will have them incinerated. I know all Costco pharmacies do, regardless of where purchased.

There is NOTHING that's better for a sore throat than single-malt scotch. Nothing!
Just a couple ounces will do the trick.

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"Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry." -William Butler Yeats

In New Jersey, the first suggested method is to wrap them up and stick them in the trash (in "non-descript packaging to...avoid trash harvesting"). Going back to the old days...

[www.state.nj.us]

Offer some to your roommate. If they help him you know they're still safe and effective.
If they kill him at least he won't get you sick again.

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It gets weaker, so just take several of them or what's left of the bottle. Alernatively, put in a coffee grinder and snort or cook up and inject the contents. Tylenonl is much more effective if you wash it down with several ounces of vodka. It helps cleanse your liver and I guarantee you'll never get another cold again after that. Enjoy!

haha...LOVE IT

Four fingers of bourbon, 1 lemon-juiced. 2 tbs. honey.
Repeat as necessary.

(I don't think bourbon has an expiration date....)

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______________________________________________
"Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend....
...inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
Groucho

If anyone is still checking this, hot tea with a shot of whiskey (in my case, Canadian Club) does the throat good.