Posted: 12/24/2008 9:04:49 PM EDT
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my cousin has a bad cold and all he has is some amoxicillin that says to take before august of 2003.
what is the worst that could happen if he takes it? would it still work? Oh and I already got dibs on his guns! 
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my cousin has a bad cold and all he has is some amoxicillin that says to take before august of 2003. what is the worst that could happen if he takes it? would it still work? Oh and I already got dibs on his guns! He (maybe) will die.  Amoxicillin breaks down and after expiring 5 or 6 years ago, it can become very toxic.
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 Do not take antibiotics unless they are prescribed for a specific reason.
I am not certain about the toxicity of expired amoxicillin, but even if it is still safe to take (which is probably not the case), it wouldn't help because colds are viral and no antibiotic will touch them. |
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Colds are caused by virus's. Antibiotics (like Amoxicillin) are effective against bacterial infections, not viral infections. Why take pills that are expired by over 5 years? They will have probably lost some effectiveness at best. If he's that sick, he should go to the doctor. |
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my cousin has a bad cold and all he has is some amoxicillin that says to take before august of 2003. what is the worst that could happen if he takes it? would it still work? Oh and I already got dibs on his guns! Well, I know the antibiotic family of tetracyclines become toxic over time, but I don't know if that is true of amoxicillin. I assume that amoxicillin is a derivative of penicillin, perhaps they behave the same as they age. |
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my cousin has a bad cold and all he has is some amoxicillin that says to take before august of 2003. what is the worst that could happen if he takes it? would it still work? Oh and I already got dibs on his guns! Well, I know the antibiotic family of tetracyclines become toxic over time, but I don't know if that is true of amoxicillin. I assume that amoxicillin is a derivative of penicillin, perhaps they behave the same as they age. Regardless, unless you KNOW you have a BACTERIAL infection, and this would be a diagnosis that should be left to a physician, it will do NOTHING. Try OTC expectorants and other cold meds. |
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ok so now he tells me he has a throat infection, not a cold. doctor is a no go as there arent any open except for the emergency room. They take a few days to work anyway. Wait for a doctor. In the mean time, make him gargle with salt water and drink things like warm coffee (with creamer) to help ease the pain. |
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ok so now he tells me he has a throat infection, not a cold. doctor is a no go as there arent any open except for the emergency room. He's considering taking drugs that expired 5+ years ago and you trust his self-diagnosis? 
If he's that sick (throat is swelling to the point of causing difficulty breathing, extreme fever/vomiting/diarrhea for more than a day), he needs to go to the emergency room. If he's not that sick, he can suck it up and wait til Friday. |
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What color is his mucus? Yellow is a virus. Green or rust color is a bacteria. If it is a virus, just take TheraFlu or Nquil. green mucus see above. he's allergic to cats and smoke and he was around someone who was cutting some painted metal with a torch at work. he said his throat infected from it and it happens all the time. just out of medication and doesnt have any refills left. |
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ok so now he tells me he has a throat infection, not a cold. doctor is a no go as there arent any open except for the emergency room. He is not going to receive a complete treatment and will likely make things worse for himself by taking any. MRSA, nasty bacteria that is antibiotic resistant, came to be by people not finishing all their pills. You need to take everything the doc gives you when it is perscribed. MRSA is an awful thing to com down with, google it and I am sure you will see what I am talking about. |
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This is the first ARFCOM thread where I've agreed with every previous post. I wasn't aware that Amoxicillin 'breaks down...' but from the other wierd shit I've heard about it, I would not doubt it.
Have your cuz see a doc. Support the patient with bed rest, forced liquids, and fever control till the symptoms pass. IM inbound. |
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ANTIBIOTICS SHOUDNT BE TAKEN WITHOUT A DOCTORS PRESCRIPTION!!!
And even, instructions should be followed to the letter. The reason why we are having new drug resistant strains of bacterias/viruses is because of people who overuse medication for mere pussy diseases such as colds. The more you use an antibiotic, the less likely it will be effective next time you use it If its just a cold, man up and ride it through. |