Expiration Date

My daughter works in a pharmacy as a tech. The use by 12/31/08 date is the last date of your rx. Unless the physician writes a specific number of times a drug can be refilled the prescription you give the pharmacy is good for 1 year.

The expiration date on the box is the date the drug company says that the drug will be perfect until. I've found that most rxs are fine for months after that; not losing strength and working just fine. It's like the best if used by date on food.

I would go with the date on the box because that was stamped by the drug company. But I would also show the box and print out to the phyarmcy where you had gotten it. Let them explain it.

Phyarmcies often make mistakes and they should know about them so it can be corrected. And if not corrected, they should be reported as their mistakes can be harmful.

I've experienced:
miscounted pills
Given one inhailer instead of the two that was ordered by the doctor and charged for two.
Given someone elses medication.

I now open the bag to make sure I got what I ordered before leaving the phyarmcy counter...I look for my name, the name of the med. and the expiration date on the box or bottle and count the pills when I get home....none of which takes long to do.

Expiration dates are important as products weaken when they go beyond their dates.

I'm also known to pull store managers out of hiding to remove products from the shelves when the expiration dates are old.

I'm glad to hear your daughter is doing well.

my husband, who used to work in a pharmaceutical lab, says you can probably keep and use it for another 6 months past the box's expiration date, but also keep it in the fridge.

With some medications it's not that the medication will suddenly go bad, or not work, it's just that the manufacturer has been given a time frame by the drug manufacturer to ensure a good quality. Just like anything else we buy these days, chips, soda, etc. I am an asthmatic, I have used a lot of my nebulizer meds and inhalers well beyond the use by dates and have never had an issue, they all still worked just as well. To make yourself more comfortable, call the Dr.

Well if its opened then tere isn't much you can do, however if its NOT opened the pharamcy might take it back,

you could also Donate it to some one in need if you think it will expire before you even get the chance to use it, EVEN if its opened some one may NEED it

www.freecycle.org.

M

Go by the expirtation of the medication itself. Chances are you got the medication this past December and their labels will always give you exactly a year. But the actual medication is only good until July '08.

i would call your pharmacist or doctor.

Ask your pharmacist-he/she knows better than us. And try giving your little angels high quality fish oil such as Carlsons or Nordic Naturals, I gave this to my daughter when she was three and we have not had any asthma episodes since. I was happy to throw away the medicine.

I would bring it back to the pharmacy and show them this. They should have noticed this when they had given it to you. Maybe they would give you new medication that expries the time they actually told you.

the lot number expiration is the one to follow so take it back to the pharmacy they should exchange it.

The date on the label is probably when the prescription expires. Go by the date on the box. The pharmacy wont take it back and don't give it to anyone else (since a prescription and will be harmful to someone it wasn't prescribed for.) Just throw it away if you don't use it all by the exp. date.