Helped Over 500,000 patients with 98%+ satisfaction.

Connect & Get Personalized 1-to-1 Answers from Expert Doctors

DoctorSpring > Question Home

Can I use an old medication for Pink eye?

Resolved Question:

Hi, I'm 57 and I think I have pink eye; the white of my eye is red and it feels itchy. This morning there was goopy stuff stuck on my eyelid. My husband has some prescription medication "Fucithalmic" which he got for his pink eye in Oct 2012; we have kept it in the fridge. The leaflet says it should be discarded after it's been opened for a month. Why is that? I'm tempted to use it. I can't get in to see my Doctor and I'm 1 hour away from a walk-in clinic. I don't think I should leave this untreated over the weekend.

Category: Community

Ask Your Own Question

Category: Family Physician-GP
 23 Doctors Online

Hello, the pink eye that you are describing is a condition known as Conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is the inflammation of conjunctiva. The conjunctiva is generally transparent but in inflammation it appears pink or reddish. It can result due to infection bacterial or viral, allergies, chemicals, fumes, and dry eye. Viral conjunctivitis is caused by adenovirus. It usually presents with redness of the eye, itching, watering of the eyes, swelling associated with thick discharge. Staphyloccus, Hemophilus influenza type B, and gonorrhea cause bacterial conjunctivitis. Here it presents with swelling, redness of the eye, pseudoptosis, this usually and lasts for 7-10 days. However the other causes of red eye are presence of foreign body, glaucoma, and injury to the eye. I would suggest you to consult your ophthalmologist for a complete evaluation of the eye .In regard to your question on the instructions on the leaflet, usually the medications come with an expiry date and can be used up to 6 months to a year depending on that particular medication. In your case, this medication is mainly used for bacterial conjunctivitis and should be discarded within a month as the preservatives in the drops can only protect up to 4 weeks after opening it. So don't use the old one and it would be best to consult the doctor. Thank you.


Dr. John Monheit
Category: Family Physician-GP
Experience: 
Residecny: North Colorado Family Medicine
Medical School: The Chicago Medical Center
Dr. John Monheit and 4 other Medical Specialists are ready to help you

Users who read this, also read:

Make informed and better medical decisions.

Join the 500,000 people who found a smarter, quicker way to get Answers, Recommendations & Expert Opinions.

Expert Doctors at fingertips

Recommendation on next step. Second-opinion.Multi-specialty.

Save Time

Average time for answers: 6 hours.

Save Money

$35 for typical specialist consult vs. $120 for a local appointment.

Free Follow-ups

Clarify, ask further questions for free in private conversation.

100% Satisfaction

Money back guarantee for the 1st reply. MEDNET Quality Board.

Start My Consultation

CHAT NOW

About DoctorSpring.com

Doctor Spring is a novel online Doctor consultation platform where you can get your medical questions answered by leading Doctors. Just Submit your question and rest assured that you will consult a Doctor easily. Once you submit the question, the Doctor from the concerned specialty will reply within hours. You can always ask more questions or add details with follow-up question options and make it an online doctor chat. You may use this service to consult a specialty or for getting medical second opinion. All paid services come with a MEDNET quality assurance and 100% money back guarantee.

DoctorSpring in news