Does Amoxicillin Go Bad With Age? (Page 3)

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I bought 100 amoxicillin caps about 3 years ago and stored them in a dark place and I was curious if they would still be good to take.

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41

According to Harvard Medical School family health article, except in rare cases (i.e. tetracycline), there is little chance of danger due to taking medications even up to 15 years beyond their expiration date. This conclusion was based upon a study conducted at the request of the US military due to stockpiles of expensive drugs they could otherwise need to replace every few years. The conclusion was that 90% of those drugs remained effective 10 - 15 years after the expiration date.

But the question is whether the drug you have kept in your medicine cabinet happens to be one of these drugs from the study... (I have not seen the list of drugs used in this study)

Source: health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update1103a.shtml

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42

NOBODY ANSWER!!! let's all just attack the asker, tell them don't do that, it's bad. i can't or won't tell you why, but that's bad. never mind the US Army study that found these types of drugs safe and effective 15 years after the expiry date. it's bad to take anything after the expiry date, so don't do it, its bad, mmkay? Let's all freak out about the asker not taking their whole previous rx, even though the 100 dose, unopened bottle is obviously not a leftover! Lets not say anything about this being enough for 5 courses of treatment, or that nobody should take amox for more than 10-14 days at once, the asker would never need to know anything like that, because after all, that bottle of theirs is expired, and taking them for any reason would be bad.

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43

OR maybe the shelf life is 100 years and the prescription drug companies are brilliant and tell us ---I mean scare us into believing they do expire! Case in point: in '95 my husband had surgery on a broken ankle. He accumulated a ton (ish) of pain killers which he didn't take. I hurt my shoulder skiing, nothing broken or torn---no script from Dr. I dug them out of the bin where I keep other OTC items. I took a percocet (2012) and IT WORKED LIKE MAGIC. So, why should we believe that other drugs expire in such a short period of time? No sucka here.

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44

Yeah they are not expense but the doctor visit required to get the prescription is , not everyone has the money to just give away to doctors who make enough money as it is.

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45

along with other drugs, so what? and you posting your opinion about that will certainly not change that

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46

we are the people who DO NOT GO TO THE E.R. FOR A LITTLE COLD, no, we keep some of those antibiotics LAYING AROUND because we do diagnose ourselves, so what?

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47

i have a friend who is an MD 10yrs. he said the pharma companies do that to move the drugs. He asked me, why do i think that the medical orgs. that go to assist poor countries ask for people to volunteer leftover/unused meds..even if expired...some may lose potency, but are still effective for years past the exp.date

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48

Well, this is exactly the problem. DO NOT take an antibiotic for a cold. It won't help, and will only increase the risk of promoting resistant bacteria. This isn't only harmful to you, but your entire community.

I don't have a problem with people making a self-diagnosis, but EDUCATE yourself first. People often trick themselves into thinking that they know more than they really do. And then they can become incredibly stubborn. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you aren't qualified to self-diagnose in a particular situation, and then getting help from a professional.

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49

I have some amoxicillin that doesn't expire until sept. 2012 my sis n law had them from back in sept of 2011 but was allergic to them. I have bronchitis and can't afford to see the doctor,so will they help me.

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50

I have taken 5 year old Amoxicillin and had no serious side effects. I was keeping it just in case there was a natural disaster or something. When I took it I got itchy at first. Then my dick fell off. I'm already to old to use the dick so that was no big deal. The good news is that after taking them I found the vitamin gelcaps I was really looking for in the same drawer. I took the amoxy's by mistake because they looked similar to the Vitamin gels. Like I said though, no serious side effects

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51

Me too!

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52

Can anyone be more pretentious than you? What does it matter to you if someone has amoxicillin lying around in their house; it's not a narcotic. You will never be able to save the world, sweetie, quit trying.

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53

sometimes the dr prescribes then calls you a day later after lab result and say you didnt have strep throat so you save them for next time to save money

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54

I was in the military and they just over load you with whatever pills they perscribe. i was just reading this to see if they go bad cause i have about 90 sitting here. I cant imagine I actually needed 100 pills when they perscribed them. anyway they are 2 yrs old now... down the hatch

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55

Everyone is freaking out about people having the pills left over. I have amoxicillin in my cabinet left over because I have to take it before a dentist appointment. The dr prescribed more than I needed for one visit and I haven't been back until now and they are expired. It doesn't have to be a big deal.

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56

Usually when amoxicillan turns yellow is because its been left out and isnt any good.

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57

My brand new bottle of Amoxicillin it states the capsule is supposed to be yellow in color.

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58

I have to take this before EVERY dentist visit therefore it is always in my house just in case. I get a new prescription every year and use it only for the dentist. Please don't assume everyone with "leftover" meds did not take as prescribed.

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59

This is hilarious. Some of you obviously sound more informed than others but none of the posts I've read specify any credentials or evidence - mostly because there doesn't seem to be any that is specific for amoxicilin. At least some cite a reference to help you decide. Here's one more: terrierman.com/antibiotics-WSJ.htm
I will let you know if I suffer from taking a full course of 28 month old amoxicilin, but I'm not worried.

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60

well, kristin. in my case i get sinus infections regular because i have a deviated sectum, inside my nose looks like it was once broken, but never was =) Anyway, my doc is aware of this, and has educated me about use and duration as well as comon sense about it, i get a prescription for 60 capsules at a time, use as needed. aren't you glad im not wasting tax dollars running to the doc every time i need a new script?

i was wondering, does the childrens liquid form go bad compared to the dry capsules i take? i've usually just turned my capsules in if i have them more then 2 years.
But if kept refridgerated will the liquid form still be worth using?

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