August Purge

[razz]

I just like more info than a blanket statement and so here is one article about drug effectiveness (amazed at what I learned): https://www.health.harvard.edu/stayi...-mean-anything

Thanks. I donated my previous dog's meds to the local humane society and wondered if that had been a wise move. Now I have the answer.

[Tybee]

Terry, I did not know the about drugs not expiring. I threw out a bottle of twenty year old oxycontin at my dads house and I threw it out into the yard to decompose in the grass. I didn't want it around his vacant house.

But I saw a movie about a drug smuggler and they were keeping these quaaludes for years, aging them like wine, and they changed so that they were much more potent ?!

[Teacher Terry]

I thought they only became less potent with time.

[Tammy]

It depends on the drug. Some lose potency (most common outcome), but some become stronger and some degrade into a different chemical.

[Teacher Terry]

That’s interesting Tammy.

[mschrisgo2]

Yes, I know about the “lifespan” of drugs, as my daughter is a pharmacy tech. The only things I’m getting rid of have some obvious chemical change, i.e. grossly discolored, separating, or have disintegrated into a powdery substance, or in the case of a couple of sets of capsules, the capsule itself has turned gooey, plus vitamins that were discolored and smelled like something dead.

I also consolidated pills - aspirin, and Tylenol- that that had expiration dates within the same year, so that led to several containers being emptied. I seldom use them, and always buy the smallest quantity available. When I was still working full time, it was more prudent to run to the store than to suffer through a whole day until I got home.

Many of the dog meds were 7 years old. The ones from the vet are always marked with a short life, a year or less, and I think they are, in fact, “old” when we get them. I have noticed a real difference if I get a script and take it to Costco to fill- much fresher.

I’m happy that my decluttering efforts provided education for others!