Since I now am taking a daily prescription pill, I decided to buy a small pill case from CVS. I travel light, so needed something small to fit in my pocket. While small, it can hold about 6 average sized pills, so I decided to throw in a couple of Motrins and Pepcid, just in case I ever need them when I’m out. Since it is rare that I ever need them, they have been in the pill case for a few months now. So that got me wondering if they can lose efficacy, affect the daily prescription, etc.
Well, there’s no way they can improve the efficacy.
So ideally they should be kept short term and isolated. Short terms is days, not months.
Unless the tablets start to fragment/powderise the effect is likely minimal for a short period but most medications are designed to be effective in the highly acid environment of the stomach ergo antacids are probably best kept away.
I have to take a handful of pills every day. I sort them every four days. No way can I keep each pill separate from the others. They’re in the same container for up to four days, and there’s no problem.
I am not a pharmacist. Pepcid is a coated pill ???. The film will wear through if you leave it rattling around in your pocket (in a small container with some other pills). Then it won’t be a pepcid any more: it will be an uncoated famotidine tablet.
A reminder, it is illegal to be in possession of any Rx medication, outside your home, that is not in its original labeled container, or accompanied by a valid Rx. There have actually beeen arrests and criminal charges for this in Texas and probably other states… The third part of the equation is usually a dick cop, but there are such things. A Texas lawman once confirmed to me that, yes, pill-minders in your car or purse are illegal.
Motrin and pepsid are OTC, you don’t need a prescription.
Also, pepsid is a brand of famitodine, and in my experience, that’s a medication that doesn’t keep very well, especially if it gets hot. So if you’ve kept one in your pocket, or your car, for a couple of months you might want to toss it and replace it with one that’s been kept cool.
(I often use drug past their expiration date. Most drugs seem to keep well for years. Not famitodine.)
Good to know. Thanks. I actually need to take Pepcid a couple of times a month, so just need to remember to take it from the pill case, and then replace with a new one.