Is it safe to take expired pethidine?

Answer 1

injection?

should be fine, it will have just lost some of its potency, water being the universal solvent reacts with drugs are eventually being broken down by the suspending liquid

pills?

the FDA requires an expiration date on all food grade products, even canned goods which have a potential, with proper storage, decades long shelf life nd bottled water. this is to prevent creative ways to get around proper food labeling of actual perishable products.

outside of antibiotics, most pills are fine for years after their expiration date...

think about pill production, not often vised meds must sit around for a while before being prescribed. their shelf life isn't determined by the day you pick it up you script, nor by the day they were manufactured. it's to help keep people mindful of expired products. also med manufacturers, if they only have one year before the printed "expiration date," are no longer responsible for side-effects or personal injury, previous potentially harmful versions, or recalled products. making all malpractice cases only viable for one year from prescription.