I am wondering about the shelf life of aspirin. I seem to recall having read that aspirin that has "Expired" by too long can be toxic. I bought several large bottles of aspirin on sale when my RA was acting up and I was taking quite a bit. I now have it under control, so don't take nearly as many aspirin. It expires this year, so am not sure how long I can safely continue to use it. Any pharmacist or nurse - types who can help me out? Thanks. You guys are the best!

-- connie in NM (karrelandconnie@juno.com), January 03, 2001

Answers

Connie, I'm not in the medical field, but I remember reading that if asprin starts to smell like amonia(spelling?) toss it! Also if it starts to break down. I wonder if it can be stored in the freezer?

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), January 03, 2001.

How old are you talking about? I have aspirin that is at least 6 years old, and still smells fine, Kathy is right about the smell turning "funny". If keep sealed up and away from heat and moisture ( the two main enemies of stored drugs), the aspirin should be good for quite awhile. If in doubt, take it to your local druggist, he/she should be able to tell you for sure.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 03, 2001.

Actually, I think it begins to smell like vinegar, but whatever it is that it smells like, if you can smell aspirin, it's no good. I've recently heard a report that stated that a majority of expiration dating done on over the counter meds is 90% marketing, so you'll throw out the old and buy new. The military commissioned a report on this because they store so much medication that throwing it all out was costing them a fortune and they wanted to know if it was neccessary. Appearently, for many things it is not. I think it was on NPR, so you might be able to find the story.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), January 03, 2001.

the bathroom is the WORST place to store meds. The moisture is the killer, I store all mine in the refridgerator door, where the eggs used to be, before I started reading this forum,,

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 04, 2001.