Are drugs within their shelf life necessarily safe? Don't be careless, due to environmental changes such as temperature and humidity, expired drugs may also experience spoilage, deliquescence, mold growth, and other issues due to improper storage methods. Today, the pharmacist will take stock of the spoilage signals released by different dosage forms of the drugs for you! Don't underestimate the destructive power of humidity and air. "Doctor, the Meikatsu I took stuck to the medicine box not long after opening it. Is there a problem with the quality of your medication?" The pharmacist encountered a "complaint" from a patient early in the morning. Originally, the patient's blood pressure has been unstable recently, and the doctor instructed them to take oral Meikatsu. Considering the patient's blood pressure condition, the doctor instructed them to take half a tablet once a day. For the convenience of taking medication, the patient dismantled the one week dosage in advance, broke the pills into half pieces, and packed them in the medicine box. But soon he found that the medicine was stuck on the medicine box, so he rushed to the hospital early in the morning for consultation. The pharmacist comforted the patient and, after internal verification, confirmed that there were no issues with the quality of the original drug. In order to dispel patients' concerns, pharmacists also need to find the reasons for drug changes. Seasonal changes, increased rainfall, and higher air humidity can lead to issues with drug storage. Although the storage conditions required in the drug instructions for Mecastatin (Telmisartan) are "stored below 30 ℃", it is also susceptible to deliquescence changes due to temperature, light, air, humidity, and other factors. Although the temperature is not high, under high humidity conditions, Meikatsu tablets can undergo changes in as little as 4 hours. The patient only stored the medicine in a cardboard box, which was not tightly sealed and had no moisture-proof measures. As the temperature increased and the humidity in the air increased, the pills absorbed moisture, leading to denaturation. Disassembling drugs can easily damage stability, and many people like to store drugs by disassembling them. Some people like to take out a weekly dose, while more "experienced" people even like to store all the drugs in small medicine boxes, which everyone thinks is convenient to take. However, there are many varieties of small medicine boxes on the market, and it is not easy for us to determine whether the sealing and light avoidance of small medicine boxes can reach the level of the original packaging. Drugs have strict requirements for their storage conditions. If they interact with external moisture, oxygen, etc. during storage, it will affect stability and quality. Mild cases may not achieve the expected therapeutic effect, while severe cases may deteriorate and cause disease. More importantly, the changes in the physicochemical properties of some drugs are not observable to the naked eye. Pharmacists suggest that there are risks associated with disassembling drugs and storage should be cautious. Especially in summer, high temperatures and humidity can easily cause drugs to deteriorate due to strong light and high temperatures. During summer, it is important to pay attention to the storage methods of medications at home. Residents can store them according to the storage conditions indicated in the medication instructions. For example, if the instructions clearly state: "Sealed, stored below 25 ℃. After removal, it should be taken immediately." Therefore, it is not recommended to store this medicine in its original form. The humidity in Beijing is very high (>60%) from June to September. At this time, it is recommended to switch to storage boxes with good sealing performance and add desiccants. There are traces of deterioration in different drug formulations, such as softening, adhesion, deformation, rupture, powder leakage, and oil leakage in capsule formulations; Tablets exhibit phenomena such as cracking, flower spots, shadows, foreign body spots, yellowing, mold growth, looseness, adhesion, and odor; Powder and granule powders have abnormal odors, such as moisture absorption, clumping, mold growth, and hardening; The pill may have deformation, discoloration, cracking, mold growth, insect infestation, and other phenomena; Mixtures and syrups exhibit rancidity, odor, turbidity, and gas production; Eye drops, nose drops, and ear drops may appear cloudy, precipitated, discolored, or granular; The liquid of biological products may have discolored, odorous, and insoluble clots or foreign objects, and freeze-dried biological products may melt; The ointment becomes uneven and not delicate, with phenomena such as mold growth, sourness, and separation; The injection exhibits discoloration, mold growth, precipitation, white spots, or crystalline precipitation. Finally, it is important to regularly check if the medication has expired or deteriorated. Every three months or so, it is best to check the home medicine box. Once the medicine is found to have deteriorated, deliquescent, moldy, or expired, it should be cleaned up in a timely manner. (New Society)