To help your medications last as long as possible, Luli recommends storing them in a cool, dry, dark place. A hall closet would be the best, as long as the medications are out of reach of kids and pets, of course. Luli also recommends regularly clearing out your cupboards, safely disposing of expired medications to reduce the temptation later. Leftover opioid medications sitting around the house are especially worrisome, as they can inspire misuse and theft.
To deter opioid-seekers, experts advise mixing unneeded pills with kitty litter, coffee grounds or bleach to make them unappetizing before discarding them. Do you take it or don't you? If you decide to take the medication, will it be a fatal mistake or will you simply continue to suffer from the headache? And how long is a prescription good for? This is a dilemma many people face in some way or another.
A column published in Psychopharmacology Today offers some advice. It turns out that the expiration date on a drug does stand for something, but probably not what you think it does. Since a law was passed in , drug manufacturers are required to stamp an expiration date on their products. This is the date at which the manufacturer can still guarantee the full potency and safety of the drug.
Most of what is known about drug expiration dates comes from a study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration at the request of the military. With a large and expensive stockpile of drugs, the military faced tossing out and replacing its drugs every few years. So, the expiration date doesn't really indicate a point at which the medication is no longer effective or has become unsafe to use.
Medical authorities state if expired medicine is safe to take, even those that expired years ago. A rare exception to this may be tetracycline, but the report on this is controversial among researchers. It's true the effectiveness of a drug may decrease over time, but much of the original potency still remains even a decade after the expiration date. Excluding nitroglycerin, insulin, and liquid antibiotics, most medications are as long-lasting as the ones tested by the military.
Placing a medication in a cool place, such as a refrigerator, will help a drug remain potent for many years. Is the expiration date a marketing ploy by drug manufacturers, to keep you restocking your medicine cabinet and their pockets regularly? You can look at it that way. Or you can also look at it this way: The expiration dates are very conservative to ensure you get everything you paid for.
And, really, if a drug manufacturer had to do expiration-date testing for longer periods it would slow their ability to bring you new and improved formulations. Promethazine pronounced as proe meth' a zeen. Why is this medication prescribed? How should this medicine be used? Other uses for this medicine What special precautions should I follow?
What special dietary instructions should I follow? What should I do if I forget a dose? What side effects can this medication cause? What should I know about storage and disposal of this medication? Brand names Brand names of combination products. Talk to your doctor about the risks of giving promethazine to your child. To insert a promethazine suppository, follow these steps: If the suppository feels soft, hold it under cold, running water for 1 minute.
Remove the wrapper. Dip the tip of the suppository in water. Lie down on your left side and raise your right knee to your chest. A left-handed person should lie on the right side and raise the left knee. Hold it in place for a few moments. Stand up after about 15 minutes. Wash your hands thoroughly and resume your normal activities. Other uses for this medicine.
What special precautions should I follow? Before taking promethazine, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to promethazine, other phenothiazines certain medications used to treat mental illness, nausea, vomiting, severe hiccups, and other conditions or any other medications.
Also tell your doctor and pharmacist if you have ever had an unusual or unexpected reaction when you took promethazine, another phenothiazine, or any other medication. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you do not know if a medication you are allergic to is a phenothiazine.
Be sure to mention any of the following: antidepressants 'mood elevators' such as amitriptyline Elavil , amoxapine Asendin , clomipramine Anafranil , desipramine Norpramin , doxepin Adapin, Sinequan , imipramine Tofranil , nortriptyline Aventyl, Pamelor , protriptyline Vivactil , and trimipramine Surmontil ; antihistamines; azathioprine Imuran ;barbiturates such as phenobarbital Luminal ; cancer chemotherapy; epinephrine Epipen ; ipratropium Atrovent medications for anxiety, irritable bowel disease, mental illness, motion sickness, Parkinson's disease, seizures, ulcers, or urinary problems; monoamine oxidase MAO inhibitors such as isocarboxazid Marplan , phenelzine Nardil , tranylcypromine Parnate , and selegiline Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar ; narcotics and other pain medication; sedatives; sleeping pills;and tranquilizers.
Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. If you will be giving promethazine to a child, also tell the child's doctor if the child has any of the following symptoms before he or she receives the medication: vomiting, listlessness, drowsiness, confusion, aggression, seizures, yellowing of the skin or eyes, weakness, or flu-like symptoms.
Also tell the child's doctor if the child has not been drinking normally, has had excessive vomiting or diarrhea, or appears dehydrated. If you become pregnant while taking promethazine, call your doctor.
Older adults should not usually take promethazine because it is not as safe as other medications that can be used to treat the same conditions. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you. If you are giving promethazine to a child, watch the child to be sure he or she does not get hurt while riding a bike or participating in other activities that could be dangerous. Alcohol can make the side effects of promethazine worse.
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