Posted by Larry Hoover on May 15, 2006, at 10:20:48
In reply to Re: Generic vs Brand...evidence emerging..., posted by bassman on May 15, 2006, at 6:56:08
> Please don't worry about the moisure:
>
> “Product stability data were obtained for this formulation stored for 5 months under accelerated conditions (40° C. and 75% relative humidity). The tablets retained 99.5% potency after 5 months of storage at 40° C. and 75% relative humidity”.The US military funded some extensive testing of drugs that had been in storage. They've got stuff that's been stored away since the Vietnam war, maybe earlier. They wanted to know, once and for all, whether drugs "expire" or not. It would have been hugely expensive to keep track of and to replace all the drugs that they keep on hand.
If I recall correctly, less than 1% of the stored meds had deteriorated such that they were not safe to use. Some antibiotics were on the "gotta replace these" lists, as was acetominophen (Tylenol). Or was it aspirin? Maybe a couple of others.
That said, leaving your drugs in the car on a hot day while you continue to shop elsewhere (I usually do groceries after the pharmacy stop) could have destroyed them. It can hit 160 in a closed car, on a sunny day. All you can do is to try and maintain reasonable storage conditions. And we should change the name of the cabinet in the bathroom. There is no worse place to keep medications, than in the bathroom.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:644003
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060515/msgs/644228.html