is there a shelf life for drugs?? prescribed and other??!
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Depending on how they were made most over the counter drugs will say they have a shelf life of 2-5 years when in fact they are good for much longer. You see these drugs are produced through a process known as a reaction when certain drugs are mixed with certain chemicals it usually causes a reaction the chemicals react with each other to produce either a whole new chemical compound or a higher strain of that compound. In street drugs "Meth" for example is a higher strain of Pseudoephedrine HCl (Hydro Cloride) wich is made by reacting the drug with acid of some kind and there are many but now there are at least 3 processes that are used today and one of them is not even an acid reaction, so if you are talking of "others" as you put it the average is 6 mo. to a year. So my advice is not to take them after that age (or better yet not at all) because Meth is a caustic material and after you stop using it the damage it causes goes on for a another 7 years so if you see people loosing there teeth just remember this when you are creamated the last thing that is left are ashes and teeth, Meth rots your bones from the inside out and if it has gotten to your teeth think of what your brain tissue looks like Take it from someone who really knows, and please stay away from that S***
It's a slow and very Painful death, very painfull.
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yeah, it should be stamped on the box it comes in, or on the bottom of the bottle. prescription drugs have everything on the label.
If you are in the U.S. the FDA requires expiration dates on every drug. (even toothpaste has an expiration date)
All drugs have a shelf life. There should be a best by stamp somewhere on there.and normally.even a little under a year after the date is ok. Only things that don't really hold out very long are liquids. You can alawys call a nuresline and ask them about it too.
Yes there is. OTC drugs have it stamped on them. If you need to know about a prescription medication, call your pharmacy and ask them what the shelf life is for whatever med you want to know about.
usually-but i don't know how they come up with these things-how can it still be fresh on may 8th and then expired on the
9th? who really knows.
for prescribtion drugs there is an expiration date even though its not marked on the labels or bottles like over-the-counter drugs. the shelf life of prescribtions are at least a month unless you have to finish the entire prescribe or if you are afraid to throw them out keep for a year BUT DO NOT TAKE ANY. if you take prescribes after they have sat around too long they become noneffective for whatever is ailing you. if the prescribe is insulin then about 28 days but if you are not for sure then its ok to ask your doctor because he/she should know or ask your pharmacist they know more than doctors do.
it is stamped on the label. In the USA our pharmacuetical companies expire the med before they start to lose potency, so some charitable organizations collect these meds and donate them to 3rd world countries.
That's a big YES! Almost everything has a shelf-life, or half-life, especially foods & drugs! For the same reason as that of foods, a drug will have little or no proper effect if it's been disintegrated. Most prescription & OTC (over the counter) drugs have a shelf-life of up to 1-2 years, some have up to 5-6 yrs.
ontheroadagain: (lol) what the drug companies do is they test all the drug substances for their half-life. The test is called "Stability". I'll let you know this, for the OTC drugs, the stamped expiration date is always *earlier* than the actual expired date tested. Some on the list are Tylenol, Advil, Motrin IB, etc. otherwise, always trust your instinct.
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It's in my line of work! I'm a pharmaceutical analyst. =)
Yes, most just decrease in effectiveness after date. Check drug's website to see if they change after shelf life is up.
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