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Is It Safe to Take Expired Medications?

  • January 23, 2017

In a Fox News report, a doctor takes on the question of how old is too old before a medication is no longer potent — or possibly even safe — to use. Interestingly, a study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration found that more than 90 percent of drugs are safe to use as long as 15 years after their expiration date. But be forewarned: This is not true in all cases, for example, nitroglycerin, insulin and liquid antibiotics expire much sooner.

Generally speaking prescription drugs typically have an expiration date of one to five years, but as this study shows, many "expired" drugs are just as potent as when they were originally made. In fact, research on certain pain killers such as aspirin and codeine and hydrocodone showed they were still potent even after 40 years.

When it comes to disposing of unused drugs, the federal government advises throwing most unused or expired medications into the trash rather than flushing them down the toilet, but water testing across the U.S. shows that no matter how the drugs are disposed, they have a tendency to end up in water. For example, a 2008 Associated Press investigation found that the drinking water of at least 51 million Americans contained minute concentrations of a multitude of prescription drugs.

The best way to ensure your water is safe and clean is to filter it or drink vortexed water, which I personally drink nearly exclusively. Referred to as "structured water" it is the type of water found in all of your cells. Water from a deep spring is one excellent source of structured water.