Ghoul
Member
It's hard to make generalizations (and of course, no guarantees) so I'm sharing my thoughts on how I keep stocked up based in the data I've seen.
So in alu/alu packaging, for something containing Telm I wouldn't expect any problem with 5 years, if you keep it refrigerated. That packaging is already moisture, light, and oxygen proof, so the only factor left to control is temp.
Same with the other handful of fast degraders like levothyroxine or doxycycline.
For almost everything else in the same conditions, I'd have no issue going to 7 years, or even longer.
These are truly conservative numbers under refridgerated temps from what I've seen of the military tests for extended shelf lives under cool storage. Some drugs will last decades,
Without refrigeration, knock off a year or two from each to be safe, but as long as we're not taking above 75f, it's not going to accelerate degradation much.
I see no reason to vacuum, the negative
pressure might compromise the blister pack since once the internal pressure of the cells becomes greater than outside pressure of the vacuum, they'll expand like a balloon. Just seal it in a mylar bag (without vacuum) with the oxygen absorber inside if you want a little extra insurance.
I'll add that when there are multiple options for a particular med, I'll look for one that offers alu/alu packaging.
Not all drugs are available in that form. But some drugs are available in a standard plastic blister / aluminum back or alu/alu. For anything I want to keep long term, I'll go with all aluminum.
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