I don’t know if you have any such experience: after a cold, you rummaged through boxes and cabinets to look for medicines, but I finally found them. Looking at the date, it expired a few days ago!
Crash and at the same time have a bit of luck, this medicine has just expired, it should be fine, right?
The medicine has just expired, can I still take it?
“I don’t believe that after the expiration date, the medicine will be ineffective all of a sudden, and it will definitely be eaten.”
“The drug may not be as effective after the expiration date, but it should be edible.”
Many people have thoughts like this. It seems reasonable to think about it. Is it really okay to eat expired medicines?
Let’s talk about the concept of [drug expiry date], which refers to the period for which a drug can maintain its quality under specified storage conditions strong>, this quality mainly refers to the efficacy and safety of the drug.
And this deadline is not set casually, it is determined after experimental research. In other words, Once this period is exceeded, the efficacy and safety of the drug cannot be guaranteed.
You may think that it doesn’t matter if the effect is not so good.
Drain! Imagine that a patient with coronary heart disease eats expired nitroglycerin, thinking that the drug has played a role, in fact, the effect is very low or not, and it may even cost the patient’s life.
And some expired medicines will deteriorate, breaking down some harmful substances that damage the human body. For example, vitamin C is easily oxidized after expiration, and oxidized vitamin C is harmful to the human body; some antibacterial drugs such as sulfonamides and penicillin are likely to cause allergies and even shock after expiration. strong>.
Therefore, It is not recommended to take medicines that have passed their expiry date. Even if it has just expired, it is not recommended to take it. Think about it, if the quality of the drug that has just expired is similar to the drug that has not expired, why did the researchers not adjust the expiration date?
For external medicine, it doesn’t go into your mouth anyway, so it doesn’t matter if it expires?
If you say that you will be more cautious about taking medicines for internal use, then you may be more casual when dealing with external medicines. Some friends don’t even have the awareness of the validity period of external medicines, unless they are used up, otherwise Absolutely not lost.
Actuallywhether it is taken internally or externally, as long as the drug expires, the quality of the drug may change, which not only fails to achieve the curative effect, but may even cause adverse reactions, such as Irritant contact dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, etc.
Some external medicines even stipulate that the use time after opening should not exceed 4 weeks, which is more stringent.
A medicine that is within the shelf life is sure to be fine?
Not necessarily.
The above mentioned [drug expiration date] refers to “specified storage conditions“, which is a prerequisite. If the drug is not stored in accordance with the storage conditions specified in the instructions , so that the properties of the drug are changed, even within the validity period of the drug, it is not recommended to use it. Therefore, the medicines must be stored in accordance with the prescribed conditions.
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It should be noted that the expiration date on the drug packaging refers to the period of unopened and storage under specified conditions. Once the drug is opened, it will be affected by the environment. Easily deteriorated by moisture, lifetime will be greatly reduced. Just open a bag of potato chips with you, it is a truth that they become soft and moist after two days.
For example, eye drops can be used for a maximum of one month after opening, and bulk medicines prescribed by the hospital are best consumed within the course of treatment, with a maximum of no more than one month.
And our common “plate-packed” medicine is the kind of tablets or capsules that are sealed in independent plastic bubbles. Rest assured that it will be used under the specified storage conditions until the expiration date.
Expired cosmetics are also not recommended
Find out how much cosmetics do you have in your home? Do you remember their shelf life and clean them regularly?
Although cosmetics are consumables, if you use them every day, they will soon be gone. However, it cannot be ruled out that some people with late-stage lazy cancer will look at their mood with makeup and their skin care status. Especially after wearing a mask during the epidemic, the number of makeup times has dropped significantly, which has led to a skyrocketing chance of expired cosmetics that are idle at home.
And Cosmetics, like medicines, also have an expiration date after opening. Some products will have the words 6M, 8M, 12M, etc. on the inner packaging, which means that after opening 6 months, 8 months, 12 months is the best period of use.
Once you find that the cosmetic product has passed the expiry date or shelf life, don’t be soft, just throw it away. Because after the cosmetics expire, the added preservatives are ineffective and cannot effectively block the reproduction of microorganisms in skin care products. If the expired cosmetics are used at this time, it is prone to facial skin contact. Dermatitis, etc.
In order to have a face, let’s break it up cruelly~
Don’t litter expired medicines and cosmetics
Did you know that expired medicines are listed on the National Hazardous Waste Inventory.
In addition to the fact that expired medicines may contaminate the environment, some unscrupulous traders change the packaging of haphazardly discarded medicines so that they can be repackaged into the market, so we can’t dispose of expired medicines like we throw out the trash.
The right thing to do is: Check if there is a centralized collection box for expired medicines in the pharmacy or community near your home, and if so, you can send it to Go to unified processing, if not, you can refer to the following practices:
●Oral tablets, capsules, granules, drop pills and other expired medicines do not throw away the whole bottle or box, and should dispose of the remaining medicines from Take out the packaging such as aluminum foil, medicine bags, etc., all medicines are concentrated in a sealed bag mashed, and then thrown into the non-recyclable trash;
●Paste medicineExtrude and collect in a sealed bag, and then put it into a non-recyclable trash can;
●Eye drops, oral liquids and other liquid medicines can be poured into the sewer and washed away;
●Aerosols medicines can be emptied and thrown away in a well-ventilated area outdoors and out of contact with open flames.
Expired cosmetics should not be thrown away, and should be sorted and thrown into the corresponding trash can. Such as liquid foundation, lipstick, lotion, etc. are dry garbage, hair dye, nail polish are hazardous garbage.
Finally, I remind everyone that you must clean up the medicines at home in time and develop the habit of recording the opening date of medicines to ensure the safety of medicines.
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