Posted by yxibow on March 19, 2007, at 4:06:37
In reply to valium shelf life, posted by steve59 on March 18, 2007, at 17:16:37
> I just purchased blister packs of 10mg valium from and overseas pharmacy.
> Does anyone have any idea of their shelf life?
>
> Steve59Being in blister packs, if they are truly hermetically sealed and haven't been subjected to extremities, they could be valid for more than one year.
Generally pharmacies mark prescriptions for one year as a general rule extrapolating the conditions that a drug could experience, especially since many people place medicines in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, a place actually not the best for them (humidity, etc.)
There have been studies done by the US army on a number of drugs and found potency around a decade or more after their expiration. This however doesn't mean that every drug can last that long or the home user should necessarily trust a drug that long.Some biologics and certain antibiotics and the like can become toxic and degrade over time.
Generally my experience with OTC analgesics is at least several years but that is up to the user, not a personal recommendation.
I suppose the safest thing is trying the smallest amount of an agent that is past its due date, again at one's discretion.
Personally, I have used agents generally for several years after their due date.This remains a not completely answerable topic because it all depends on the specific drug and how it was kept. Drugs with signs of crumbles may indicate less potency; this is often the case with older generics that use different bindings.
-- tidings.
poster:yxibow
thread:741990
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070314/msgs/742069.html