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Comment by Broken_Hippo | Hacker News Reader

I'm not sure where they said they got rid of them to avoid addiction: It is more that they have to convince medical staff that they aren't simply looking to get high but want health instead.

But outside of that, getting rid of unused pills is good practice. These pills are going to expire. Once they do, you can no longer rely on them doing what you expect. Plus, a lot of folks don't like to keep stuff they aren't using around the house - it is always a bit of upkeep or storage.

And that doesn't even get into it being safer around children. It is easier to prevent children from getting into such things if they aren't in the house.

FYI: Check with your pharmacy about bringing unused medicine to them to dispose of properly instead of putting it in the trash.

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>But outside of that, getting rid of unused pills is good practice. These pills are going to expire. Once they do, you can no longer rely on them doing what you expect.

Disagree completely.

Source: retired neurosurgical anesthesiologist (38 years practice)

Reasons:

1) When you need those pills you won't have them

2) Properly stored pills (dark shelf/cabinet) lose potency/efficacy VERY slowly: perhaps 10%/year. So 5-year-old pills will still work fine. Take one, see if does what it did originally; if not, take another.

3) If you're traveling and need that medication, good luck. You'll wish you'd saved them.

> But outside of that, getting rid of unused pills is good practice. These pills are going to expire. Once they do, you can no longer rely on them doing what you expect.

Evidence required.

Expiration dates are put on many things as a CYA, but I don't expect dry chemicals destined for human (or animal!) use kept in an airtight container protected from the sunlight to degrade within 10 years.

Should they degrade, the question is into what, and how much: 5% degradation into what the human body breaks the chemical into should have no consequence.

> FYI: Check with your pharmacy about bringing unused medicine to them to dispose of properly instead of putting it in the trash.

Or just keep it and use it as needed, solving both of your problems at once!

I am not a doctor or chemist so I do not want to speak definitively, but I highly doubt most common drugs (Xanax, Advil, etc) really lose much efficacy past their expiration date (at least within some reasonable time, like 10-15 years). Happy to be shown evidence otherwise. I wouldn’t rely on this for say, antibiotics to treat an infection, but I wouldn’t hesitate to take a 5 year old Xanax.

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