AboutDr. Ravindra Bhaskar Ghooi Expertise I can provide information on drugs and medicines, their actions, uses, interactions and adverse effects. To avoid confusion, generic names of
medicines may please be provided. I am a pharmacologist, having worked
on animal and human pharmacology, and presently I am the Dean of Bilcare Research Academy, where we teach courses on clinical research. We dont work on saturdays and sundays, hence questions reachng me on these days will be replied on Monday, please bear with me.
Question Does is erythromycin chemically change into a poison after expiry, or does it's effectiveness just deminish? The FDA was asked by the US DOD to determine the true shelf-lives of drugs and, as an example, DOXYCYCLINE was found to be just fine for a decade - whilst the expiry date is typically 2 years. How about erythromycin? Does it really magically become some sort of poison after 2 years?
Answer Hi Ian,
As time progresses, most drugs degrade into biologically inactive molecules. Very few drugs become more active or toxic. have had a look at the degradation products of erythromycin under various conditions, none of the products formed are toxic.
True erythromycin is less stable than doxycycline, but it does not become toxic.
Ravi Ghooi
