[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/06\/taking-expired-medication\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/06\/taking-expired-medication\/","headline":"What Happens When You Take Expired Medication?","name":"What Happens When You Take Expired Medication?","description":"<p>Is taking expired medications safe? Understand the risks and safety concerns of using medicines past their expiration date. <\/p>","datePublished":"2025-06-03","dateModified":"2025-08-27","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/","name":"UPMC","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1465215170-e1748456267246.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1465215170-e1748456267246.jpg","height":866,"width":2000},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/06\/taking-expired-medication\/","about":["Family Health","Health Topics A-Z"],"wordCount":1141,"articleBody":"It\u2019s midnight, your cough is keeping you awake, and you find an old bottle of cough syrup in your medicine cabinet. You may wonder: Does medicine expire? And can you take expired medicine safely?\u00a0In many cases, taking medicine that\u2019s a few months or even years past its expiration date is fine. But sometimes, you shouldn\u2019t take expired drugs.Here\u2019s what you need to know about the safety of using expired medication.What Is an Expiration Date?The expiration date is the date up until which the manufacturer guarantees a medicine is safe and has its full potency, or strength.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began requiring drug manufacturers to include an expiration date on products in 1979. This rule applies to both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.You can find the expiration date stamped on the bottle or carton of medicine. You may also find it printed on the label. The letters \u201cEXP\u201d may follow the date.Is the expiration date the same as shelf life?The terms expiration date and shelf life have slightly different meanings.Shelf life only refers to how long a drug is safe to use. It doesn\u2019t guarantee that the medicine has its full strength. Shelf life is usually much longer than the expiration date.Medication kept in its original packaging generally has a much longer shelf life. But variables like heat, humidity, and moisture can affect a medicine\u2019s shelf life.Is Taking Expired Medication Ever Safe?The short answer is: often, yes. Several studies have shown that most medications are safe to take for months or, in some cases, years beyond their expiration dates.The expired medication may not harm you, but it may have gotten weaker. It may have become less effective than it once was.In general, medicine in liquid form has a shorter shelf life than tablets or pills. Also, liquids grow bacteria faster than medicine in pill or tablet form. For instance, you should avoid using expired eye or ear drops because they could have become contaminated.The effectiveness may also depend on how far out of date the medicine is. It\u2019s probably fine to take ibuprofen that\u2019s a few months past its expiration date, for instance. But you shouldn\u2019t take an antibiotic that\u2019s several years old.In other words, there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all rule for how safe it is to take expired medicine. Your best bet is to err on the side of caution. And you should always check with your doctor if you have questions about taking any medicine.What Expired Medications Should You Never Take?If you take medicine for a life-threatening condition, such as asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, or heart disease, watch expiration dates closely. Expired medicine may have gotten weaker and may not work correctly. It\u2019s not worth risking your health by taking medication that&#8217;s no longer at full strength.Likewise, expired antibiotics can fail to treat infections. That can lead to worse forms of illness. It can also raise the risk of antibiotic resistance, where bacteria evolve to grow stronger and infections become more difficult to treat.Other medications you should never take beyond their expiration dates are:Birth control pills.Blood thinners.Insulin.Thyroid medications.Safest Place to Keep MedicinesThe best place to keep most medicine is a dry, cool area out of direct sunlight. Some medication should go in the refrigerator. Read the label on your medicine to make sure you\u2019re storing it correctly.Medicine can become less effective when exposed to sunlight, heat, and humidity. The worst places to keep medications? In a damp bathroom medicine cabinet, a hot car, or the kitchen near hot appliances.It\u2019s also important to keep all medicine \u2014 expired or not \u2014 out of reach of children and pets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks emergency department visits for unsupervised medicine exposures. In 2020 alone, there were more than 36,500 such visits for children 5 and under in the U.S.What to Do With Expired MedicineThe responsible thing to do with expired medicine is to dispose of it safely. By getting rid of expired or unwanted medicine, you reduce the risk of:Accidental poisoning.Illegal substance use.Overdose.Someone taking the wrong medicine by accident.Here are some ways to safely dispose of expired medications.Drug take-back programsMany communities have medicine take-back events, in which you can dispose of unused or expired prescription or OTC medications. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also sponsors national events for the safe disposal of prescription drugs.You can also check with your local pharmacy. Many offer drop-off boxes and mail-back programs for unused or expired medicine. Some law enforcement facilities also have drop boxes or kiosks for expired medicine disposal.Flushing medicationsYou may flush some expired medications down the toilet. But before you do so, check the label or information leaflet that came with the medicine. (The FDA also has a list of flushable medicines on its website.)It\u2019s important not to flush certain medicines, which contain chemicals that pollute water. These drugs could affect fish and other wildlife and also end up in your drinking water.Household trashIf you can\u2019t flush your expired medications and a take-back program isn\u2019t available, you can dispose of them with your regular trash. But there are some steps you should take to ensure the medicine doesn\u2019t end up in the wrong hands.Remove the medicine from its original container.Mix the medicine with something unappealing, like cat litter, dirt, or coffee grounds. This will make it less enticing to children or pets. Also, someone looking through the garbage for drugs won\u2019t recognize it.Put the mixture into a sealable container, such as a ziplock storage bag, a can, or any other container that will prevent it from leaking.Remove all of your personal information from bottles, boxes, and other containers. Throw the packaging away separately to protect your privacy.SourcesU.S. Food and Drug Administration. Where and How to Dispose of Unused Medicines. Accessed May 5, 2025. https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/consumers\/consumer-updates\/where-and-how-dispose-unused-medicines\/ FDA.govAfrican Health Sciences. Drug expiry debate: the myth and the reality. Accessed May 5, 2025. https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC7040264\/ NIH.govMedlinePlus. How and when to get rid of unused medicines. Accessed May 5, 2025. https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/ency\/patientinstructions\/000943.htm\/ MedlinePlus.govJapan Medical Association Journal. Use of Expired Drugs: Patients Benefits versus Industry Interest. Accessed May 5, 2025. https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC10834166\/ NIH.govHarvard Health Publishing, Is it ok to use medications past their expiration dates? Accessed May 5, 2025. https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/staying-healthy\/is-it-ok-to-use-medications-past-their-expiration-dates\/ Harvard.eduU.S. Food and Drug Administration. Don\u2019t Be Tempted to Use Expired Medicines. Accessed May 5, 2025. https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/drugs\/special-features\/dont-be-tempted-use-expired-medicines\/ FDA.gov"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2025","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What Happens When You Take Expired Medication?","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/06\/taking-expired-medication\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]