Expired Meds---can KILL!

[JamiDesigns]

I am a nurse and have been since 2004. I would NEVER take any meds that are EXPIRED. My mom is bad about doing this. She never sticks to the antibiotic regimens she is given. She is one of those people who thinks just because she feels better that it means she is better. It scares me to death, especially after what I found in her bathroom when I went out to Alabama for my baby shower this past April. I knew my mom did this, so I wanted to see if she was still as bad as she used to be because I have a kid sister to worry about too. So, I went through all her medicine cabinets (they have 2 bathrooms). It shocked me...literally 90% of my mom's meds were EXPIRED by 6 mos.- 2 yrs. and she had tons of antibiotics that she "kept around" in case she needed them. The thing with antibiotics is that if a doctor prescribes it for a 7 day or 10 regimen, it is because it will take this ENTIRE dose to make your infection go away. Now, people wonder why there are so many MRSA cases now? It is because of these people who don't complete their regimens. See, when you don't complete your antibiotic therapy, you can set up what is called a SUPER INFECTION in your system. It may not harm you, or it may put you in the hospital or possibly kill you, but what it does is makes you resistant to those antibiotics. MRSA is a bacteria called Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcous Aureus. It's a staph infection that does NOT respond to antibiotic therapy, and it can eventually kill a person. So, for those people who think it is ok to keep around "extra" antibiotics to self-medicate themselves later on, you are actually helping to set up MRSA infections and Super infections all over the areas you come into contact with.

On the note of expired meds...medications are given expiration dates for a reason. If the medication is to expire at a certain point it is because that med is no longer effective at maintaining potency after that date. If you take a medication that has no potency, you can either make yourself sicker or possibly die from it. Expired meds can become very toxic after their expiration date, or they can just become null and void meaning that to take them would be like you are taking nothing at all. Heart medications, blood pressure medications, anti-viral medications (like for Herpes Simplex, AIDS, Hepatitis), and diabetic medications are the WORST meds to take when expired! These can actually endanger your life.

If your medication expires, PLEASE consider the fact that there is a reason why that date is given by the pharmaceutical company that created the med. Do not give yourself or your children expired meds! I know with the economy the way it is, some people may be desperate, but desperation might KILL YOU or YOUR CHILD!