Drug expiration dates

My apologies for not posting as often as I'd like -- we've been slammed! Nonetheless, I wanted to get a quick post up concerning an important issue.

As a follow up to my New Year's Day activities of sorting through our medical supplies, several readers raised the question of drug expiration dates and the wisdom of storing over-the-counter drugs if their efficacy will only be neutralized over time.

By the grace of God none of us in my family are on prescription medications, so we don't have to worry about stockpiling those. And as far as over-the-counter stuff, it appears that many drugs have a vastly longer shelf life than we're led to believe.

Don found some online research which addresses this issue. Please see these articles:

Study Highlights Debate Over Drug Expiration Dates

Program Extends Drug Shelf-Life

I'm afraid I won't be able to answer any specific questions about drugs since I have no medical training. However these data suggest that many, if not most, over-the-counter drugs are efficacious for far longer than we've been led to believe.

Make of this what you will.

Preparedness 101 - #4

Several readers have posted comments asking what to do about prescription medications in terms of preparedness.

This is a dicey question. I don't have any easy answers.

Most over-the-counter medicines have a long shelf life and it's worth stocking up on the basics. But what about those essential prescriptions that quite literally are saving lives?

The only thing I can suggest is to speak candidly with your doctor about your fears, and ask him if he'll prescribe as long a backlog as the medicine's shelf life will allow. He may or may not do this.

A lot depends on the relationship you have with your doctor. When Y2K hit, our youngest was a baby, so I asked my OBGYN if he could prescribe certain medicines (chiefly painkillers) "just in case." He knew us well (he delivered both our girls) and trusted that we would not abuse his trust when it came to prescribing medicines we didn't need but wanted to have on hand.

So ask. Can't hurt, might help.

I don't expect society to shut down if this economic mess wrecks our economy. People will still need medications. I just pray they can still get them.

I know this is not a satisfactory answer to a lot of people, so I hope others will post their own ideas and suggestions. If any doctors wanted to jump in the loop, I'd appreciate their insights as well.