Siege

I did a search on "expired medicine" and got nothing.

I was just wondering just how badly expired can advil be and still be ok to consume? Assuming of course, expired medicine is ok to take to begin with?

I've had a headache for about 2 days now, and i've decided it's time to take some advil. However, the only bottle i have is 2 years expired. While I could throw it out and buy a new one, is it safe to consume the old stuff? And will it work just as well?

Thanks in advance!

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Dilbert1234567

2 years, to be safe, throw it out. I've had my GP say my ant-acids were safe even though they were expired by a few months.

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meanSpleen

its not so much safety as potency for most drugs, especially OTC (over the counter). They just lose their effectiveness after time, kind of like how a pot of chili tastes great for the first week, then just begins to go stale. It also means that you could theoretically take MORE than the prescribed amount because it is less effective, but that is most often, and rightly discouraged because it is unknown by how much the effectiveness has degraded.

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Sue

Expirations are there for a reason...

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eribrav

If it's been kept under optimal conditions (cool,dry,dark) it's probably fine. The expiration dates on meds can be pretty arbitrary and not based on actual degradation.
Note that the medicine cabinet is about the worst place for long term storage of meds because the bathroom typically gets heated up and fogged up with moisture one or more times a day.

newtx

2 years may be stretching it a bit, but I have gotten relief from 1 year + expired sinus medication many times. I agree that worst case the Advil would be less potent.

SofaKingA

Youre right, the expiration date is not the date at which the drug goes bad, but it is the date at which 10% of the active ingredient becomes inactive. So the expiration date tells you that approximately 90% of the drug is still working. But if its 2 years old...Its hard to say how much of the active ingredient is still, in fact, active. Most people throw their drugs away after the expiration date which is stupid. But it is even more stupid to guess how much of the active ingredient is still left by taking more than the recommended dose. In this case, throw the advil away. If it were 2 months, I would have told you otherwise.