Is it safe for my husband to take cialis or viagra if past expiration date?

People who take three well-known erectile dysfunction medications should be extremely careful if they take any of 56 other drugs - including many commonly prescribed anti-angina and certain blood-pressure medications.

Hi Anon,

Thanks for sharing your question with the EmpowHER community! Even though you would think an expiration date on pills would mean that's the last date you can take them, several medications can be taken past their expiration date.

It definitely depends on the type of medication you are taking, however. In the cases of Cialis and Viagra, it is ok to take the pills past the labeled expiration date. Especially if you are storing the medications properly by sealing them tightly and keeping them in the dark, they are safe to take and won't cause any harmful symptoms. It's also important to note that the effectiveness of medication may wear off the older it gets. 

Based on my research, I found that many pharmaceutical companies mark medications with expiration dates based off tests that show the time period the medications stay most effective. Some pharmaceutical companies may also have policies stating they can only support medications for a certain number of years. In many cases, however, medications can last past the expiration date. 

The accuracy of expiration dates depends on the type of medication in some cases. Certain medications for health issues like thyroid and heart conditions should be taken before the expiration date and not used after. 

It's a good idea to talk to your pharmacist about medications and expiration dates. Since they specialize in different types of medications, they can give you a good idea about medications that are safe to take past the expiration date and which ones are more time sensitive.

Hope this helped and please let me know if you have any other questions!

Best,

Erin