Does Amoxicillin Expire?

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Amoxicillin: How Long is It Good for? Datos

Does Amoxicillin Expire: Your doctor may have recommended amoxicillin to treat a bacterial infection. Or you found some tablets while cleaning your medicine drawer, and now you are wondering how long amoxicillin stays usable.

Just like any other medicine, amoxicillin has an expiration date. In this article, we will let you know how long this drug typically lasts. Keep reading to learn some interesting facts about medicine expiration and does amoxicillin expire.

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What Does Drug Expiration Mean? Does Amoxicillin Expire?

What Does Drug Expiration Mean? Does Amoxicillin Expire?
Does Amoxicillin Expire?

Drug expiration is a date mentioned on the medicine label that tells you the last day you can use the medicine, whereas it is still effective and safe. Every medicine has an expiration date because it is needed by law. 

Drug companies mainly test the stability of their products for a period of two or three years. Though the medicine might still be stable beyond that time, it does not get tested for different reasons:

  • The current time frame is considered acceptable.
  • Pharmacies and people who use the medicine replace expired products.
  • Manufacturers are not required to conduct long-term stability tests.

Let’s know; how long is amoxicillin good for.

How long does Amoxicillin last?

The Amoxicillin shelf life (of a drug) refers to how long it remains effective. It starts from the day it is made and ends on the expiry date. Amoxicillin comes in different forms like tablets and capsules.

Below, we will tell you how long different types of amoxicillin products remain good. This will help you know their shelf life.

Capsules & Tablets

Sometimes you need to take amoxicillin in the form of tablets and capsules. The bottles they come in usually have an expiry date of 2-3 years.

When you get a prescription from the pharmacist, they might give you a one-year expiration date. They do this to match the expiration date on their stock bottles.

Make sure to store these tablets and capsules properly. Keep them in a container that protects them from moisture and light, and store them at a room temperature.

Suspension

Doctors sometimes prescribe amoxicillin in liquid form. You might have a powder form of amoxicillin that needs to be mixed with water.

The powdered form of amoxicillin can last for about 2-3 years. However, once it is mixed with water, it will likely expire after 14 days. It also a different reason; why does liquid amoxicillin expire in 14 days?

If you have liquid amoxicillin, keep it in the freeze. This can help slow down its deterioration and keep the medicine stable.

Can I Use Amoxicillin After It Expires?

It is important to avoid using expired amoxicillin for some reasons given below:

Amoxicillin breaks down over time because it is type of chemical.

There is no surety that its effectiveness will remain the same expiration, as there is no stability information to know this.

You can not tell if amoxicillin has degraded or changed just by looking at it or smelling it. After expired amoxicillin, amoxicillin will not give the intended therapeutic benefits anymore.

There is no guarantee that amoxicillin, which is an antibiotic, will still be effective after its expiration date. So it is better to get a new package instead.

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