We all regularly find bottles, tablets or ointments that have passed the expiry date. What if we give up using them again? Answer: go to the pharmacy! Valérie Lacour is a pharmacist in Brussels: “Patients must bring their old medicines back to us, it’s free and easy. We have boxes provided for the collection and storage of these products which will then be destroyed in a secure way, it is important to prevent them from ending up their lives in toilets and garbage cans because there would be a risk of water pollution or an accident if an animal or a human were to collect them from a garbage can.”
But be careful all the same, they should not be brought back anyhow: “We ask the public to bring back only medicines, not homeopathy, vitamins or herbal products. And only blister packs should be brought back, not packaging or leaflets.”
But should the drugs be brought back as soon as the date has passed? Again, the answer is nuanced: “You should know that the date communicated by the manufacturers corresponds to the date until which the quality of the product is guaranteed according to the tests carried out. Beyond that, we do not know if they remain effective, maybe yes , maybe not. Suddenly, for certain products such as painkillers or calming creams, we can take the risk because it is limited. On the other hand, for antibiotics or drugs for the thyroid or against diabetes, it is probably better to stick strictly to the date because a possible lack of effectiveness can prove harmful.“
It also depends on the time elapsed. “A few days, it’s not serious, a few months, it is sometimes problematic. Even eye drops are no longer recommended four weeks after opening, for sunscreen, it’s a year. I would say finally that sometimes you have to rely on the smell or the appearance. A cream that smells abnormally bad, we no longer use it, even if the date is still good, it means that it has not been well preserved.”
We understand that it is common sense that must prevail and sometimes you have to give up taking a risk as you would for a simple yogurt because the consequences can be a little more important.
–
