[jackson145]

Originally Posted by Hopefull2009

About a month ago, I was looking for some aspirin for a headache, and found a bottle that had been there forever....he said, "Aspirin has a 20-year shelf life."

You can tell aspirin has gone bad because it smells like vinegar, right?

[JessieRN]

Originally Posted by jackson145

You can tell aspirin has gone bad because it smells like vinegar, right?

That's what my grandma claims.

[Diary/Dairy]

When my grandma died in 2000, Mom and Rosie (my sister) helped clean out her kitchen. They found a package of jello that dated to the Truman administration - I just don't have that much of the packrat gene in me......

[RNperdiem]

I wonder just what kind of preservatives went into that syrup. I have had maple syrup go moldy before.

[Woodenpug]

I'm not sure about the hypertonic nature of syrup because most bottles "sweat" and over time can you be sure that the sides and top are not diluted?
I've noticed that fewer food products contain nitrates and sulfite's, could that explain the shorter shelf life? Are more of us reading food labels or are the bugs just more resistant?
It seems we now have better data regarding ID50 since a more representative population than young, male med students are being used as test subjects.

[anonymurse]

What's interesting is how drug companies come up with shelf life. This little study on aspirin found a 5% decomposition was the basis for a 2-to-3 year manufacturer's aspirin shelf life:

http://web.utah.edu/unews/releases/0...shelflife.html

[rita359]

Our grandparents grew up in days prior to refrigeration. Leftovers were covered with a cloth and served for the next meal. This has been true for most of the history of mankind and we still survive. Have to cut grandpa some slack. He could be as right as you are.

[rph3664]

Originally Posted by jackson145

You can tell aspirin has gone bad because it smells like vinegar, right?

That's correct! It's not necessarily toxic; it just doesn't work any more.

When I worked at the grocery store, one day an elderly man purchased a bottle of baby aspirin and then told me it was for his grandson for whom he was babysitting, and was running a fever. I refused to proceed with the ring-up and told him to get some Tylenol and explained why, and he and another elderly couple who were standing nearby (regular customers) said, "But we gave aspirin to our kids when they were little and nothing bad ever happened to them!" I said my parents did that with me too, but now we have safer alternatives, and the man kind of went "Harumph" but he did take the generic Tylenol with him.

As for Vicks working for psoriasis, the menthol and camphor may have indeed done the job. Those ingredients are used for eczema and other skin conditions.

A while back, I heard a report on "All Things Considered" that the expiration dates on various products are determined by standards used by the military for the products issued to troops. One person said that most drugs, when stored properly, are good for 10 years or more (tetracycline is a notable exception because its molecular structure can change into a toxic isomer) but since most people don't do this, it's best to follow the date on the bottle.

I recently found a bottle of generic Sudafed that had a 2002 date. I didn't use it because it had clumped in the bottom.

[Ms Kylee]

Originally Posted by Hopefull2009

He had this spot of eczema-like rash on his elbows that was there for months...he went on this Vicks trip and sure enough, it was gone after about 2 weeks.

Weird, eh?


This soooooooo reminds me of the Dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding that used Windex as the cureall.... "Put some Windex on it".

[pickledpepperRN]

A neighbor used to get out dated food free from the supermarket trash.
He cut the mold off cheese, cucumbers, anything and ate it.
The first time I met him he served egg nog. I thought it had alcohol so didn't drink it. Turns out it was spoiled.
He scooped the mold off cottage cheese.
Kids were treated to rock hard packaged cookies. He gave kids cake mix to eat with a spoon from the box the market threw out because it was accidentally cut.

None of the kids ever got sick.
He lived to be 98.
A generation of kids who grew up here can play chess, know a lot of history, can recite Shakespeare, and Psalms. He was a wonderful loving man. He is missed.

As a CCU nurse I've cared for many who treated their CHF with Vickd vapo rob.