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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Sinusitis / September 2005AntiBiotics - shelf life, usage
Ended up with a nasty sinus, upper respiratory infection about 13 days ago. Got that 'sick', weak, can't think feeling. Mucus discharge coughed up or from nose has been anywhere from almost black/greenish, to yellow, to milky white to clear. Right now it's yellowish again. This came on suddenly after a stressful three days with little or no sleep, excessive cigarette smoking (i know any smoking is 'excessive'), capped off by a 1/2 day of hanging around in a hospital where I'd taken my mother for tests. It was about 24 to 48 hours after that visit to the hospital that I felt this kick in heavy, although I started to feel something was wrong maybe even as early as the day before I took my mom in for tests. Anyway, that's the setup. I know it's not wise to use antibiotics unless you really need to badly and it's generally not considered wise to 'self-medicate', but I was really feeling very sick and wanted to knock this beast out before it took me down if possible. Had access to a 'Z-Pack' - three tables that was unused - dispense date was about 2/10/2005. I used those the first three days. Sensed a little improvement, but by day 4 or 5 I was feeling sicker again. Had access to a full 10 day course of Augmentin (sp?) dispense date was about 3/15/2005. I've used that full 10 day supply. Two days ago I called my pdoc for an appt regarding this problem and thought they where gonna schedule me in. Instead, I just got a msg on my answering machine from the nurse that they had called in a new 'Z-pack' for me to my pharmacy. Right now, I don't have the severe sick, tired, can't think type feelings I had at first, but still definitely have a trace of those type feelings and minor headaches and still green to yellowish discharge. I'm wondering a few things: where the antibiotics I already used possibly 'out of date' and ineffective? should i bother using the new Z-pack my doc called in two days ago on top of what I've already done? what course of action would those of you unfortunately well experienced with infections suggest at this point? I would think that they have lost the full strength of the antibiotic after the expiration date. You should ask your pharmacist about this. When my MD gives me samples I always look at the expiration date on them, which is usually 2 years. I just bought some Tylenol and the expiration date is 2007. I saw some on the shelf that would expire 2/06. shirley > I would think that they have lost the full strength of the antibiotic > after the expiration date. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > shirley For what it's worth, I read, and wish I had the quote reference, that the expiration dates for meds. are considerably short sided. The pharm. companies naturally want you to buy more, and for safety sake (theirs for lawsuits, just in case), put the expiration very short sided in this article I read. The meds, if very, very, old...like 3 to 5 years, or slightly more past expiration on the package, would possibly lose some of their initial strength, but never increase in strength. I'm almost 100% sure this was verified by the US Army by using antibiotics that were 9 or 10 years past expiration in Vietnam and they were just fine in their opinion. Don't have the time now to do a search, but the article was found by Google and verified by reputable scientists. Storage *is* an issue. If they were left in a hot area for extended time I'm sure the degeneration would accelerate I would think you would be very safe if the expiration was in the past year. But to be safe, ask your doctor. ....Allen I agree. Most antibiotics are good for at least a year. It usually tells the date to discard at the bottom of the bottle. I would add that I would probably take the ZPak since you only took 3 earlier. You don't want to develop resistance. Ketek is a new antibiotic in the same family that is mainly for respiratory infections including sinusits. you might ask for that if it doesn't clear up. Also blackish mucus could be either dried blood or possbibly a fungal infection. If so, antibiotics won't help. You may need an antifungal. Kathyw >I agree. Most antibiotics are good for at least a year. It usually >tells the date to discard at the bottom of the bottle. I would add [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Kathyw Thanks to everyone for the replies. Kathy, I'm a bit confused about one statement you made. Are you saying you think I should or should not take the 2nd Zpack since the first only contained 3 tablets? Does this infer that taking just a small dose of antiboitics and not a full or longer term course will cause you to build up resistance to them? This is just my opinion, I would ask my doctor as someone else suggested. If you don't finish an antibiotic and there were bacteria present that were susceptible to it, then yes, that strain of bacteria can build up a resistance. Since you took Augmentin for 10 days afterward, then you may not have that problem. If it were me, and I still had any symptoms at all left, I would take the ZPak; if not, then you might want to wait and see. It is very important that you completely kill the bacteria that are present or you can get into big trouble "down the road." If you're not better after taking the ZPak, I would be looking for a sinus specialist that looks at all angles for treating sinusitis including the fungal aspect. Kathyw I would warn against taking any antibiotics especially in the tetracycline family that are past expiration as you can develop serious kidney problems from them. I see that these were not the kind you took, just thought I would warn other people. I am sure other antibiotics can similarily affect the kidneys. I think the problem is you didn't get enough of the right kind of antibiotics for an adequate amount of time to do anything for your infection. You must go to your doctor and 'fess up' what you've taken so they'll be able to give you the right one. Also if you don't do irrigations I would recommend looking into doing this. I've found that I don't need as many antibiotics since I've been irrigating. On 8/29/05 8:00 AM, in article e570e20b698f63e9b225b5665e695763@localhost.talkaboutsupport.com, "sedum41" > I would warn against taking any antibiotics especially in the tetracycline > family that are past expiration as you can develop serious kidney problems [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > this. I've found that I don't need as many antibiotics since I've been > irrigating. There is a more serious problem in taking expired medicatons. They may have been in an overheated closet, not refrigerated, exposed to sunlight, etc etc and the chemical composition has changed. Medications are more sensitive to temperature, etc than food. On the other hand: several decades ago a hospital in UK was using penicillin for 6 months until someone realized the stuff was expired and inactive. > There is a more serious problem in taking expired medicatons. They may have > been in an overheated closet, not refrigerated, exposed to sunlight, etc etc > and the chemical composition has changed. > Medications are more sensitive to temperature, etc than food. This is why I never store meds in the bathroom or kitchen. Too many temp and humidity variables. I use a nightstand or a hall closet. > On the other hand: several decades ago a hospital in UK was using penicillin > for 6 months until someone realized the stuff was expired and inactive. Few medications degrade or become inactive after the expiration date, which is the last date the manufacturer will *guarantee* its potency. Tetracyclines are exceptional in causing kidney damage when degraded. Susan |
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