Expired Medication? You May Want to Discard It All

Do you automatically throw out food as soon as the expiration date hits? Or do you take a chance with the see, sniff, and sample? If it passes any one of the three you are good to go. I really do not enjoy wasting food, and because I live alone it is hard for me to even go through an entire loaf of bread before it goes funky.

Food is one thing but what about your medication? Now I am not talking about prescription medication, I am referring to the over-the-counter, sometimes pricey medicine that when you need it you get it. But after you beat that cold or ill-feeling it just sits in the medicine cabinet until you, unfortunately, need it again. Do you toss it or do you take it?

According to WGRZ, the question has started a conversation after a woman posted that she used Vick's VapoRub from 1987 to help her son. Experts say that is not a good idea. Medication loses its effectiveness after a certain point and there is no guarantee that you will be safe by taking it. This is a true wake-up call because I still have cold and allergy medication when President Bill Clinton was in office.

So with cold and flu season upon us, it may be a good time to clean out your medicine cabinet and purge your over-the-counter pills and replenish with a fresh batch of things that are designed to help and heal.