You probably have a bottle of cough syrup from a flu you had years ago or a tube of antibiotic ointment that expired well before the pandemic. It feels wasteful to throw them out, especially when medication is expensive.
But holding onto certain expired medications is dangerous. While a stale ibuprofen tablet might simply not completely cure your headache, other medications can undergo changes in their chemical composition, breed bacteria or lose potency needed to save your life.
According to GoodRx, an expiration date isn’t just a suggestion. It’s the date until which the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of the drug. After that date passes, you could be taking a risk by using it.
Here are some specific items you should purge from your medicine cabinet immediately.
Liquid antibiotics
Liquid antibiotics are often prescribed for children or those who can’t swallow pills. Once mixed, these suspensions have a very short shelf life — often just 10 to 14 days.
Liquid medications can become breeding grounds for bacteria and fungi once the preservatives break down.
Taking leftover liquid antibiotics for a new infection is risky on two fronts. You might be dosing yourself with dangerous bacteria, and the antibiotic itself likely won’t be strong enough to kill your current infection.
Eye drops
Eye drops contain preservatives to keep bacteria at bay, but those preservatives degrade over time once you break the seal.
If you use expired eye drops, you can introduce a potential bacteria directly to the surface of your eye. This can lead to serious infections like conjunctivitis or even damage to your vision.
If the bottle has been open for more than a month or is past its expiration date, toss it.
Nitroglycerin
If you or a family member carries nitroglycerin for chest pain (angina), this is a life-or-death check. Nitroglycerin is extremely unstable. It relies on its chemical potency to open blood vessels quickly during a heart episode.
These tablets are very sensitive to heat, light and moisture. Once a bottle’s opened, the tablets generally only last about six months. An expired nitroglycerin tablet might fail to work when you need it most.
Injectables
Like nitroglycerin, injectables such as EpiPens (epinephrine) or insulin serve critical functions where dosage accuracy is non-negotiable.
Studies have shown that EpiPens can retain some potency after expiration. But relying on an expired EpiPen is a gamble you don’t want to take in the case of anaphylactic shock. If the mechanism fails or the drug has degraded significantly, it may not stop the allergic reaction.
Insulin also breaks down quickly, especially if not stored perfectly, leading to uncontrolled blood sugar levels.
Sunscreen
That half-empty bottle of sunscreen from last summer might feel fine, but the active ingredients that block UV rays degrade over time. That deterioration can happen faster if the sunscreen has been exposed to high heat or direct sunlight, Consumer Reports says.
Using expired sunscreen can result in burns and sun damage. So if you’re at all unsure about how old it is, best to toss it.
How to dispose of expired meds safely
Don’t flush old pills down the toilet, as this contaminates the water supply.
Your best option is a drug take-back program at a local pharmacy.
If that isn’t an option, GoodRx suggests mixing the medication with an unappealing substance like used coffee grounds or kitty litter, sealing it in a plastic bag and throwing it in the trash. This prevents children or pets from accidentally ingesting it.
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