Can I still use an expired Epi-Pen?

I'm really surprised your allergist said that. While some medications do in fact work after the expire date, they do not work as well.

Exp. dates are for quality purposes. The product will start to deteriorate at or around that date making the medicine less effective.

Given the nature of epi pens and how we travel with them, I would NOT use an epi past it's expire date unless I had no other choice. Epi pens are exposed to extreme temperature fluctuations which make them less reliable. Add to that the statistics that a certain percent of epis don't work at all and you are setting yourself up for disaster.

If you feel the need to hold on to expired epis for emergency purposes, I suppose you could. But I still wouldn't do even that.

I understand where your allergist is coming from, but as an epi pen is used in a life or death situation-I just wouldn't risk it. You may only have one chance to get it right.

Sorry if this sounds negative-it's just my honest opinion.

Ruth

Thanks Ruth!

You are very welcome!

very interesting diskussion

The only exception I think to what Ruth has said is financial. I have read about someone who died because they felt they couldn't afford epi pens and had not held on to old ones past the expiration. If you can afford too replace them. But if you can not buy new ones an old one is better then nothing.
I practice with my old ones and they are great to give instruction with if you want to train a caretaker.

Great advice, Ruth. Using anything past its expiry is not worth it. Like Ruth said, the reason there are expiry dates is because products like Epi-pens lose their effectiveness over time.

Our pharmacist said NO! He said with Epi Pens it is absolutely no good once the Expiration Date hits. Check with Dey Pharmaceuticals if that's who your manufacturer is.

My understanding is that you can absolutely use an expired Epi-Pen.

This was actually discussed at a recent Food Allergy Symposium (ACAAI, Miami) that I attended and Estelle Simons, MD specifically addressed this issue. She has studied this issue with epi-pens that were months and years past their expiration date. (link to the study below)

I am not a physician but my understanding of this is that if an expired epi-pen is the only medicine you have,(to treat anaphylaxis) you use it.

There maybe some loss of potency as others have written but the benefit outweighs the risk.

Obviously, whenever you can, refill your prescriptions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10808186

Take care,
Gina

I just called Dey Pharmaceuticals and they told me that they get this question a lot. They said, Epi Pens expire at the end of the expiration month. So, for example, if your Epi Pens has an expiration date of January 2010, you would have until the last day of January to replace it.

People have posted about this at kidswithfoodallergies.org who have been to FAAN conferences and who talked to top allergists. Epis lose potency after their expiration dates. They may have full potency a *bit* after the expiration date and certainly it would be better to use one that to use nothing but really they should be replaced when the date expires. I'd go without a lot to keep them current. They are top priority to have. It stinks that some have to worry about their cost.

I hold on to my expired epipen because after I got it i have since lost insurance and any finances to get a new one. I do think epipens expire after time, however i also think that the expiration time that is set is not accurate. I have heard of expired pens working just fine. I think that they set the expiration date before it actually expires so they are able to sell more and make more money. The longer I live in this world the more i tend to expect people, important, and small, to do or say anything to make an extra buck. This is especially common in pharmaceuticals. As long as the epipen is not discolored, and is in good physical shape I think it is acceptable to use a couple years after it expires. However I have no evidence to back this opinion up, so if you have the finances to keep getting new ones then by all means get new ones before the old ones expire.

I used an epi-pen (exp date October 2009) last night (Dec 2011) and it worked just as well as non-expired epi I have used in the past. Also, while seeing if I had a newer epi, I noticed that 2 separate one year old standard epi-pens had gone cloudy and therefore shouldn't have been used - however, the twinject I have was fine. I don't know if this is a one time thing, or a brand difference. Rule of thumb: look in the little window on the actual epi-pen - it will say do not use if cloudy.

Of course, the pharmaceutical company is going to say they are not good after the expiration date. Two reasons - money, they want to sell more and to reduce their liability.