What happens if you take expired erythromycin

This program was carried out to reduce medication costs for the military. The program determined that the average expiration extension should be 66 months and a maximum extension of months, depending on the medication, of course.

These may be different conditions than many people would store them. More on storage shortly. This retaining of potency for antibiotics is true for most solid forms of antibiotics, such as tablets and capsules. Antibiotics in solution or liquid form will lose their potency and efficacy after expiration and should never be used beyond this point. This is because liquid antibiotics are susceptible to bacterial contamination after reconstituting. This is suspected to be what happens because of certain nonsterile compounding procedures and the addition of nonsterile water to liquid antibiotics.

Aside from this, expired liquid or solution antibiotic will change its appearance and odor after expiration fairly quickly because of several compositional changes. Therefore, this would make it more obvious that the liquid or solution form of antibiotics has diminished in potency or efficacy and is therefore not safe to be used after expiry. Even some solid forms of antibiotics can have a narrow therapeutic index, and so a very minor decrease in pharmacological activity can result in serious consequences for patients.

One such antibiotic is the monoclonal antibodies. By Carolyn Crist. In some parts of the world, doctors face the difficulty of getting medicine more than once a year. Users often divide up their doses into pill boxes. The shelf life of nitroglycerin, once out of protective packaging, is reduced down to less than a week because of the rapid rate of drug breakdown. Even large, macromolecular drugs, like insulin, present problems. Insulin is a polypeptide used in the maintenance of blood glucose levels and the management of diabetes.

The solutions also contain preservatives to reduce the rate of spoiling. However, as they are small proteins, the drug molecules may break down in water, and in some instances bacteria can start to grow and break down the protein.

This is why the shelf life of drugs such as insulin is very limited. So is it safe to take medicines after their expiration date?

The answer depends on the drug in question but, generally, no. Drugs like nitroglycerin may, in some instances, be life saving. But the actual drug content of out-of-date medicines such as this may mean that there is no effective medicine left in what is being taken.

So there will be no effect on the target condition. The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients.

Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine.

If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.

If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses. All rights reserved.