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There are plenty of reasons to want a fully-stocked medicine cabinet but it's also possible to be too prepared.
有很多理由需要一个充备的药柜，但这可能太过充备了。
Like, while that huge bottle of aspirin you bought on sale ten years ago might have seemed like a great idea,
比如，虽然你在十年前大减价时购买了巨大一瓶阿司匹林似乎是个好主意，
it's almost definitely expired by now. Expired medicine might seem like a weird concept,
但现在它绝对已经过期了。过期药物似乎是一个奇怪的概念，
because a lot of it doesn't get moldy or slimy like old food. Some of it is just powder. But it can expire.
因为很多药不会像放久了的食物一样发霉或腐化。一些只是粉末状。但还是会过期。
And when it does, it's time to pitch it. Just like with packaged food,
过期了，就要扔掉了。就像包装食品一样，
drug manufacturers in the U.S. are required to provide an expiration date for medications.
美国药品生产企业被要求为药品提供一个保质期。
They're estimated after seeing how samples of a drug degrade over short periods of time,
他们先在短期内观察药物样本的降解，或是通过加速药物活性成分的分解
or by accelerating the breakdown of the drug's active ingredients.
然后预估出保质期。
Like the dates on food, the dates on medicine aren't an indicator of when the drug might hurt you.
和食物上的日期一样，药物的日期并不能说明药物什么时候会对你造成伤害。
Instead, they're a guarantee that it will work as intended, as long as it's in the original, sealed packaging.
相反，这些日期是一个保证，只要是保存在原装密封袋里，就能有预期的效果。
However, after that date, you can't be totally confident that the medicine will work as well.
但过了这个日期，就不能完全保证这个药物疗效不变。
And if you've already opened the bottle, the expiration date no longer applies, and all bets are off.
如果你已经打开瓶子了，保质期就不在适用了，毕竟世事难料。
Some of this is because outside factors can cause compounds in medicine to break down more quickly.
部分原因是由于外部因素会导致药物中的化合物分解得更快。
Heat, humidity, and sunlight are all big ones.
热度、湿度和阳光都是大因素。
And in some cases, those broken-down compounds can actually become unsafe.
在一些情况中，那些分解化合物会变得不安全。
So if you've been keeping your aspirin in the bathroom cabinet all this time,
所以如果你一直把阿司匹林放在浴室柜子里
your shower has probably done a number on it, even if everything looks normal.
即使一切看起来都很正常，你的淋浴器也可能促进分解。
For many medicines, there's also the risk of bacterial growth, especially when it comes to liquid medicine.
对很多药物来说，还有细菌滋生的风险，尤其是液体药物。
As soon as you open that container, the contents are no longer sterile,
一旦你打开那个容器，里面就不再是无菌的了，
and quickly become susceptible to contamination from the environment.
很快就有可能受到环境污染。
So if you take that past the expiration date, there's a chance you're drinking something pretty nasty.
所以如果你在过期后喝了，你很有可能喝了很脏的东西。
Ultimately, taking expired medicine is like spinning a roulette wheel of potential dangers.
最终，服用过期药物就像在玩一个有潜在危险的轮盘赌。
In the best-case scenario, the drug just won't work as well.
在最好的设想中，过期药物只是不起作用了。
And in the worst case, you'll make yourself more sick.
最糟糕的是，你可能会病的更厉害了。
And since it's really difficult to figure out what all the risks are, it's just not worth it.
很难弄清风险是什么，只是不值得这么做。
Also, this should go without saying,
这一点不言自明，
but this is especially true about drugs for serious or life-threatening medical conditions
但对于治疗严重或危及生命的疾病的药物尤其如此
especially because some of those lose their effectiveness really quickly.
尤其是因为其中一些药物很快会失效。
For example, the heart medicine nitroglycerine becomes unstable at high heat and is known to lose its potency fast.
例如，心脏病药物硝化甘油在高温下不稳定，且它的效力会迅速丧失。
These drugs could also seriously hurt you.
这些药物也会严重伤害你。
Some prescription drugs have a very narrow therapeutic window, meaning the exact dosage is really important.
一些处方药治疗窗口非常狭窄，这意味着准确的剂量非常重要。
Receiving too much or too little of an active ingredient could have significant adverse effects.
有效成分太多或太少可能会造成明显的副作用。
So at the end of the day, it is much safer just to pitch things.
所以到了保质期，扔掉这些药会更安全。
If there aren't any specific instructions on the package,
如果包装上没有任何具体说明，
the Food and Drug Administration website has recommendations for how to do that.
食品和药物管理局网站上有相关建议。
If you want to learn more, you can click the link in our description. Thanks for asking!
想了解更多，请点击下方链接。感谢提问！
And thanks to all of our patrons on Patreon for supporting this episode, and for asking such thoughtful questions.
感谢Patreon赞助人对本节目的支持，感谢大家的提问。
If you want to help us keep making more episodes and support free science education online, you can go to patreon.com/scishow.
如果你想帮助我们制作更多节目并支持免费科学在线教育，请登录patreon.com/scishow。
