Warnings have emerged that the habit of leaving expired medications in medicine cabinets could pose serious health threats.
Expired medications — whether prescription or over-the-counter — are commonly stockpiled in households, but old drugs can do more than lose their effectiveness: they can turn into toxic substances, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday (local time). Experts warn this is not merely a clutter issue but one that can lead to serious health consequences.
Over time, medications undergo chemical reactions due to exposure to heat, moisture and light, causing their active ingredients to deteriorate. While headache or allergy medications may simply become less effective, drugs used in emergencies — such as heart medications, anti-seizure treatments and EpiPens — can become life-threatening when their potency declines.
A prime example is tetracycline-class antibiotics. Used to treat bacterial infections, these drugs can degrade into a substance called anhydrotetracycline over time, which can trigger Fanconi syndrome, a rare kidney disorder. Liquid-form medications such as syrups are particularly prone to bacterial growth after opening, potentially causing infections in the eyes, ears and digestive tract.
Many people also save leftover prescribed antibiotics and use them for different infections later. However, different antibiotics target different bacteria. Just as an antibiotic prescribed for a skin infection may have no effect on tonsillitis, using the wrong antibiotic allows an infection to persist without improvement.
The bigger concern is antibiotic resistance. When antibiotics are misused or courses are not completed, bacteria adapt to the drug and become stronger. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur annually in the United States alone, killing more than 35,000 people.
Keeping leftover opioid painkillers from dental procedures or surgeries in medicine cabinets is also dangerous. Opioids are considered among the most hazardous substances to store at home. Surveys have found that nearly half of people who misuse prescription painkillers without a prescription obtained them from someone else's medicine cabinet.
Laxatives also warrant caution. Prolonged use of stimulant-type laxatives can cause the bowel to become dependent on the medication, worsening symptoms over time. This can lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalances and nerve damage in the intestines. For recurring constipation, consulting a gastroenterologist to identify the underlying cause should take priority over switching between laxatives.
Opened eye drops can also develop bacterial growth within weeks. Old eye drops carry the risk of progressing from mild irritation to corneal ulcers, which can lead to blindness. Leftover eye drops should be discarded immediately and replaced with new ones.
"Keeping your medicine cabinet clean is keeping yourself safe," said Teri Dreher Frickenberg, a nurse. "If you haven't sorted through your medications in more than a year, you need to do it right now."
