Significance of Expiration Dates On Pet Treatments

Each and every thing available today comes at a price and in today’s time, that price has reached the highest possible levels. Reaching to the social stature has become out of question because it is difficult even to reach the basic needs for most people. This scenario urges us to find as much cost cutting solutions as possible. That may be hardly possible if you are a pet owner. Pet food, flea and tick treatments, wormers and vaccines are some of the most needed things for canines and felines which not pet parent can avoid.

There are many people who ask the vets whether there is any harm in using treatments or medications if they have crossed their expiration dates. There are many speculations about using such products and are followed by pet owners without knowing the significance of it.

Here we have discussed some of the most important things about expiration dates that may help you determine the right things. Let’s scan it!

How is the expiration date decided?

It is compulsory for drug manufactures to put expiration date on products. Expiration dates are not put on the pack randomly, but are decided after performing various stability tests. Manufacturers check for how long it maintains its efficacy in different climatic conditions. Certain environment changes degrade the efficiency of chemicals, for example the medication cabinet in your bathroom can be bad for the treatments as it is damp and humid in there. Thus expiration date is decided after conducting series of tests in distinct conditions.

What happens to the expired treatments or medications?

After the treatments or medications cross the expiry date, their quality depends on the chemicals used and the atmosphere where they are kept. It may happen that either the key ingredients lose their potency or can degrade in such a way that the key ingredient become concentrated.

For instance, a liquid medication is formulated in such a way that it provides 10mg of ingredient per 1ml. After expiring the key ingredient may become 20% concentrated and it provides 12 mg of active ingredient per 1ml. This indirectly increases the dose even if you follow the guidelines.

From the above discussion it is clear that even if the medication does not turn poisonous or something, it may have adverse effects as the chemical properties of the ingredients are altered after certain amount of time. Thus it may be better if you do not administer expired medications to your canines and felines.