Expiry date July 2019

[Chocolate41]

Hi

I have ampoules of hyroxocobalamin that expire July 2019.Does that mean they can be used until the end of the month.Just want to be sure.

Thanks in advance.

[fbirder]

Expiry dates on these things tend to be very, very conservative. If it were me I'd be happy using them until the end of the year. So the end of the month should be fine.

[deniseinmilden in reply to fbirder]

Totally agree.

[Foggyme Administrator]

Chocolate41. Further clarification about expiry dates:

The NHS advises that no medicines should be used after the expiry date: after this date, the medications (or in this case B12) may not be as safe or as effective (B12 may lose its potency so the full dose may not be delivered).

Here's what the NHS say about this:

nhs.uk/common-health-questi...

On the other had, there are schools of thought (and research) to back up the point that some medications may have an extended shelf life beyond the expiration date. However, the main difficulty with this is that:

'many drug products may have extended shelf lives beyond their expiration date. However, it is difficult for any one consumer or health care provider to know which product could have an extended shelf life'

More information at this location link:

drugs.com/article/drug-expi...

There is little research specifically around the issue of whether expired medications are actually safe to take (as opposed to having a potential extended shelf life).

Tablets and capsules may fare better in terms of extended expiration. Liquid forms and suspensions fare less well.

There are some drugs that are specifically excluded and should not be taken after the expiration date (some antibiotics, insulin, EpiPen, nitroglycerin, vaccines, biological, blood products - to name a few).

So...deciding what medications may or may not be safe to take after the expiration date is a tricky business and there may be some form of degradation in terms of potency, efficacy, and safety.

I'm posting this clarification so that members are aware of the complex issues surrounding expiry dates since 'blanket' advice about the acceptability of taking (especially injecting) expired B12 does not give the full picture on expiry dates...and the picture is certainly more complicated where other potent or potentially life saving drugs are concerned.

So... please always follow medical advice and only use B12 (or any medication) that is within it's expiry date (as your is until the end of July 2019).

[niamhdan in reply to Foggyme]

No medication should be taken after expiry date, in your case this would be last day in July, they would need to be replaced after that date, there is no guarantee of the efficacy of the drug and it could also potentially cause an anaphylactic reaction as the chemical components of the drug may alter, this is why all medications have an expiry date. It’s just not worth the risk.