Is Expired Azithromycin 250mg Antibiotic Still Effective?

Posted on Wed, 10 Jun 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 Answered on

Tue, 30 Jun 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello. I have a azithromycin 250mg antibiotic that has a October of 2014 expiration date. Is this still effective?

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (8 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
nobody can say

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

nobody can really say whether is will work or not. Using expired drugs is not recommended. In some cases an expired active substance may convert into a toxic one. Tetracycline is a classical example. Using it after the expiration date may result in serious liver damage. I can't say that a similar thing may occur with azithromycin because I don't know it, but taking it will raise concerns about both its efficacy and potential toxicity, so... you'd better buy a new one.

I hope I've helped!
Kind Regards!

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar