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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is It Safe To Use An Expired Bottle Of Hydroxyzine Pam?

I have an expired rx for Hydroxyzine Pam 25mg, expired by a little over a year. I am in need of some anxiety medication at the current moment, I don t have a PCP to call and am waiting on my insurance to go through. I understand that most medications loose effectiveness with expiration or can also get stronger and I am wondering what is the affect of this medication when expired, and if it does loose its effectiveness if maybe i can just double up on it, I don t feel I can wait for my insurance to go through and find a PCP, or that I would be able to afford an out of pocket cost for both the medication and a visit. What Can I do?
posted on Wed, 4 Feb 2015
Twitter Thu, 19 Feb 2015 Answered on
Twitter Thu, 19 Feb 2015 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service.
I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

Well, don't use an expired medicine. What happens when a medicine expires is, primarily the effect decreases considerably, as well as the adverse effects and risk increases because of chemical reactions in the expired drugs. So it is not only less effective to take expired medicines, but also very harmful. Hydroxyzine pamoate is no exception to this.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Swarnava Dattagupta
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Is It Safe To Use An Expired Bottle Of Hydroxyzine Pam?

Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. Well, don t use an expired medicine. What happens when a medicine expires is, primarily the effect decreases considerably, as well as the adverse effects and risk increases because of chemical reactions in the expired drugs. So it is not only less effective to take expired medicines, but also very harmful. Hydroxyzine pamoate is no exception to this. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Swarnava Dattagupta