A few days ago, I had a conversation with some friends about the validity of the expiration dates or the "best before dates” of many perishable products purchased in supermarkets and other places. Many of them would tend to pick products from store shelves without paying much attention to labels when purchasing household supplies. They would mostly concentrate more on the brand name without much regard for the information on the label. When I asked about checking the expiration dates, many responded that they barely checked. Many also thought that consuming products a few days after the expiration date wasn’t entirely unsafe, "it won’t kill you” they said. This conversation was quite interesting, and it became much more serious when I asked about consuming expired medicines. In places where we have issues of affordability of many medicines, the debate was if medicine could be used even after the expiry date. Let’s talk about myths and facts about expired medicines.

Chances are there are some medicines you have in your home, usually over-the-counter medicines or a few prescription drugs or supplements. Sometimes, due to storing them for a long time, a few get expired, and many people quietly wonder if they can still use them; especially when the medicine is in critical short supply, costly, or slightly beyond expiration.

Rigorous testing and regulatory procedures are used to establish the expiration date of medications in order to guarantee their safety, efficacy, quality, and effectiveness. Manufacturers of medicines test their products extensively for stability and evaluate how they deteriorate over time under different storage circumstances. In order to simulate real-world settings, this required exposing medicines to variables such as humidity, temperature, light, and other elements. Then, these experts keep an eye on the medication’s efficacy, chemical makeup, and physical attributes to ascertain how long it will survive on shelves and in storage. Drug regulatory agencies have standards for determining these dates. Based on data submitted by the medicine manufacturers, regulatory bodies evaluate these dates and approve them.

Using medications that have expired can put you at risk for several problems. These effects vary depending on the specific medication kind and how long it has been out of date. In certain instances, the strength of these past-due medications might have been impacted, resulting in a decrease in their potency and efficacy. This could lead to diseases or other illnesses not being adequately treated. As we store medicines, the chemical composition changes over time, and after a certain period of time, the medicine can become ineffective, and cause allergies or other side effects. Some medications can unfortunately degrade into harmful products after their expiration dates. When medicines become ineffective, they may sometimes cause the underlying sickness to become worse or delay recovery.

Medicines can cause significant risks to your health when used past their expiration dates. This depends on the medicine and its chemical composition. For instance, using expired antibiotics can lead to inadequate or incomplete treatment of infections, due to reduced potency, which can lead to the development of resistance. The use of expired medicines for diabetes or blood pressure can lead to unstable blood sugar or inadequate management of cardiovascular health. Some medicines may also irritate sensitive tissues. Another point to note is that the expiry date is guaranteed as long as the medicine box remains unopened.

While some medicines may retain some form of effectiveness for a short period after the expiration date, relying on expired medicines for treatment is not recommended and should be avoided. We know these medicines degrade thus reducing efficacy, potency or even becoming toxic. Other important points we should consider are the storage conditions of medicines. Medicines that are exposed to too much light, humidity, and inappropriate temperature can be compromised even before the expiry dates. Always dispose of expired medicines or those that have been poorly stored. Visual appearance and odour are not effective indicators of the safety or efficacy of expired, even when they look unchanged, dispose of expired medicines.

When you ingest expired medicines, it’s important to act. While some medicines won’t cause serious harm, it’s advisable to seek advice from the healthcare provider to ensure that the ingested product doesn’t harm your health. However expensive medicines may be, we should dispose of any expired medicines safely to prevent others from using them or prevent contamination of the environment. If medicines are administered with syringes, they also require special handling in sharps containers. Usually, it is recommended that expired medicine and sharps are not placed directly into household waste.

Dr Vincent Mutabazi is an applied epidemiologist.