How long can drugs be preserved after opening? And is closely related to the dosage form. Is your medicine expired?

I believe that most of my friends will have some commonly used drugs at home in case of emergency. Those friends who suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes are even more inseparable from drugs. As you may know, drugs are all valid, and you can't take them after the expiration date. On the one hand, the effective components will degrade after the expiration of the drug, on the other hand, the impurities will increase, and the therapeutic effect may not be achieved after taking it, and the incidence of adverse reactions will increase. Have you ever thought that the expiration date of drugs after opening can't be calculated according to the instructions, because drugs will be contaminated after opening and are more likely to deteriorate due to changes in storage conditions?

The pollution and deterioration of unopened drugs are closely related to their storage environment. Most drugs should be stored in a cool and dry environment at room temperature, and some drugs need to be sealed or refrigerated. Perhaps you didn't expect that the shortened expiration date of Kaifeng medicine is also related to its own dosage form. The so-called dosage form refers to the existing forms of drugs, such as powder, granule, tablet, capsule, syrup, injection, cream, patch and so on. Preparing drugs into different dosage forms is not only more convenient to use, but also related to the route of administration. The prepared medicine can also improve the curative effect and reduce the side effects.

Although the preparation of drugs into different dosage forms has brought many benefits, it has also changed the storage conditions and expiration date of drugs. The storage conditions and expiration date of different dosage forms of drugs have changed accordingly after opening. Unless you take a single dose of drugs, other dosage forms of drugs need to reconsider their storage conditions and deadlines, otherwise it may cause considerable trouble. Unfortunately, the instructions of many drugs do not mention such important information in detail. Below we list the preservation problems of several commonly used dosage forms after opening:

1, syrup, syrup is a high-quality bacterial culture medium. The opened syrup can be used for 1 month in summer and only for 3 months in dry winter. Before using syrup, it is best to observe the condition of the solution. Once bubbles, discoloration, flocculation, crystallization, precipitation and other phenomena are found, it means that the drug is contaminated or deteriorated and can no longer be taken. Syrup is also a preparation that is afraid of cold. After being put into the refrigerator, there will be problems of precipitation, crystallization and stratification, which will lead to inaccurate dosage. Syrup should be sealed at room temperature and stored in a cold place.

2, tablets, tablets are mostly starch or powdered sugar, easy to be affected with damp, adhesion, fragmentation, easy to swell and mildew after being affected with damp, and can no longer be taken. Tablets are a dosage form that is most afraid of moisture. After prescribing the medicine, everyone must seal it and fidget in the shade. The shelf life of tablets after opening is greatly affected by storage conditions. After finding signs of deterioration and pollution, people can no longer take it. Its advantage is that many tablets are now packaged in a single aluminum-plastic package.

3, capsules, the main ingredient of capsules is gelatin, everyone is familiar with it. It is also a very perishable ingredient, especially afraid of heat. Capsules become soft and sticky when heated. The storage temperature of capsules is higher than that of other dosage forms, and generally it needs to be stored in a cool place not higher than 20 degrees Celsius. Once the capsule is found to have signs of melting or mildew, it means that the storage temperature is too high, and the drugs contained in it may be degraded and can no longer be taken.

4. Ophthalmic preparations, the preparation standards of ophthalmic preparations are the same as those of most injections, which shows that the quality standards of ophthalmic preparations are very high and the storage conditions are more demanding. From the point of view of safety, disposable ophthalmic preparations are now advocated. If you are still using multiple doses of eye drops or eye ointment, the use period after opening will not exceed 4 weeks, and individual varieties will not exceed 10 day. Everyone should read the relevant records in the instruction carefully.

5. Chinese medicine preparations, such as pills, powders, ointments, etc. Many traditional Chinese medicine preparations contain honey, which is very easy to attract bugs after opening. This kind of preparation, in addition to moistureproof and mildew-proof, also needs to do a good job of insect prevention. Once it is found to be contaminated by insects, it can only be discarded.