Samantha asked
Hello, I lost a pack of birth control and was taking a spare pack I had since Saturday. I just realized the pack expired 6/2017 (about 5 months ago). I had unprotected sex twice during the time I was taking the expired pills so I am concerned about how much effectiveness the pills can lose after 5 months. Am I safe or should I take Plan B?
Answer
In general, it is not recommended to take expired drugs (past the manufacturer expiration date). The main concern is that the medication may not have the same effectiveness or potency it had when it was in date. This is especially concerning if you are taking a medication like birth control pills, where a decrease in effectiveness can have detrimental consequences.
There really is no good way to determine if a medication is still "good" after the expiration date. The drug manufacturer sets the expiration date based on a time period for which they know their drug will continue to meet FDA standards for purity and potency. After this date, there is no guarantee. While studies have shown that many drugs are still effective well after the set expiration date, once that date has passed, ambiguity sets in.
This question of whether or not you can take expired medication comes up often for pharmacists and it is really hard to give a precise answer. To be on the safe side, you may consider taking emergency contraception if you had unprotected sex as there is a chance, albeit small, that it won't be as effective as it once was.
If you are interested in some more information regarding expired drugs, we wrote an in-depth article that can be found here: Are Expired Drugs Harmful.
