Should I take it?

[gokuDX7 2,871]

I have this god awful throat pain only in the left side of my throat that just came out of no where. It's been there for about a week now. It sometimes shoots up to my ear too. At fist my tong, ear and left side of my throat all hurt but everything has slowly mellowed down and gone away except for my throat. My dad suggested I take some penicillin, however the only left over penicillin we have says it expired in 05. My dad said it's still fine to take it but I'm holding off till I talk to my mom and see if she has any laying around.

What do you guys think? Should I go for it and risk having a head ache and the shits for a week? Honestly I cant afford to go to a doctors and get a prescription since I don't have insurance right now so I'll take whatever advice I can get to eliminate this pain in my throat.

I'm pretty sure I either just have a throat infection, ear infection thats dripping in my throat, or my tonsils need to come out lol. I'm hopping its just a throat infection.

[Kite 3,263]

sorry to hear your in pain,

maybe cheap over the counter meds might help?

or become european or canadian ---> free health care well about 1hr worth of minimum wage depending on the pill

also: NEVER TAKE OUT OF DATE MEDS

you really could make yourself a lot worse

[Eppy 3,446]

well penicillin is just mold in the first place...so itll just be...moldier? yeah out of date penicillin is something that you will want to be careful of...other out of date meds usually just lose potency but seeing as penicillin is based off of mold thats a different hting

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I saw a segment on the today show months ago about medicine's expiration dates only meaning that the medicine is 100% potency up until that date. After that date some drugs could still be 99% effective for months or a year afterward but its not 100% potency so its considered expired. But every drug is different and theres no guarantee how strong anything is after its expiration date.

I did take an out of date antibiotic before and they did work for a while, but in the end I only screwed myself by prolonging my illness and I still had to go to the doctor for a full dose. If you have a full dose of expired antibiotics, you could always try it, but at the same time you'll only weaken your body to the effects of antibiotics when you are older.

*imagines eppy licking tree mold to cure strep throat* X'D

[slippers 3,168]

Have you tried hot tea with honey? I also heard walnuts are good for soar throats. I couldn't stop coughing for a month so I ate walnuts for a couple days and it went away in a few days or so. I don't know if that was a coincidence or not, but I think it helped. Also go to a local drug store and get something for your throat like Kite said. I hope you get well soon.

or become european or canadian ---> free health care well about 1hr worth of minimum wage depending on the pill

Yea, that must be very convenient. I saw Sicko the other day. But one of my classmates told me that his aunt, who is Canadian, had to wait 2 years for her to get her knee surgery done because the waiting list was so long. And she has to pay taxes like a half for everything.

Edited April 25, 2008 by slippers

[Ladywriter 7,783]

05? probably down to 1/2 as effecive now. throw em in the trash.

Sounds like an ear or sinus infection and the glands in yer throat are swelling up as a result of the infection.

A family doc is about 40$ a visit, way cheaper then the ER or walk in clinic. If ya cant find an Rx from 07 then call the dr. if its not infection its allergies and either way he can hook ya up with make it better pills.

[Kite 3,263]

05? probably down to 1/2 as effecive now. throw em in the trash.

Sounds like an ear or sinus infection and the glands in yer throat are swelling up as a result of the infection.

A family doc is about 40$ a visit, way cheaper then the ER or walk in clinic. If ya cant find an Rx from 07 then call the dr. if its not infection its allergies and either way he can hook ya up with make it better pills.

what happens then if your get taken in by ambulence and need treatment, but are poor?

waiting lists are v long, but thats because the system is abused pretty bad,

also sicko was full of shit, the english doctor he talked to was a GP, over paid, and do nothing compared to a real doctor..

[gokuDX7 2,871]

thanks everyone for your opinions. I've taken out of date meds before, just not 3 years out of date lol so I was unsure if I should or not. But today I woke up and the pain wasn't as bad and the back of my throat has started to turn from red to whiteish so I think its starting to heal on its own now.

@lady - ya I have a long history of having ear infections and at first thats what I though it was. Maybe my left ear had an infection and it was dripping in my throat(ew). But the more I look at the back of my throat the more it looks like I swallowed something sharp. I have this white line right down the side of the back of my throat. I think maybe I may have eaten something like a chip that I didn't chew well enough and it scrapped the back of my throat without me knowing. Then I probably got the throat bug everyone's been getting and it made it worse. Normaly if I catch anything, it only lasts for 3 days but in this case its lasted a week. Anyway, I'm gonna hold off on taking any kind of meds now. I think if I just give it some time it will heal on its own. Of course if it lasts more then another week I'll start thinking about going to the doctors and blowing the $60+90 on an appointment and meds.

Edited April 25, 2008 by gokuDX7

[Sledgstone 8,672]

If its turned into white patches you could have strep throat or a herpes outbreak.

My doctor once told me that 90% of all adults have herpes simplex 1 because so many adults love to 'kiss the baby' thus before we can defend ourselves from infection we're all screwed with this virus before we even turn 1 year old. My doctor also told me that many white patches in your throat can be contributed to a herpes outbreak that can cause strep throat like symptons and can make you sick and have a sore throat for weeks. Also, if you get any white patches in your throat or on your tonsils, don't pick at them with a toothbrush, because according my doctor and other websites I searched after I didn't believe him, turns out those white patches will bleed like motherf*ckers if you mess with them.

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/infections/skin_rashes/cold_sores.html

Good news is that if it is herpes you won't need antibiotics.

[Eppy 3,446]

omfg Sledge i can just see poor goku crying right now

[HKofsesshoumaru 673]

Wow great way to look on the brightside Sledge:rotflmao:

Do I wan't to know what the hell is "kiss the baby"? I NEVER let anyone kiss on my daughter when she was little. I was way paranoid about germs.

I JUST had a ear infection, my first in 20 some years. Since I am pregnant they gave me these crappy anti biotics that were related to penicillin (which I am allergic to). I kept fainting and blacking out:faint: but my ear hurt so damn bad I just finished the 7 day script and stayed home that week.:barf2:No to mention is tore my stomach up.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

omfg Sledge i can just see poor goku crying right now

Oh please, you should have seen my reaction when my doctor said to me: "Oh, thats just your herpes flaring up." I had that wtf look on my face and the doctor said: "I love seeing peoples faces when I say that, but don't worry 90+% of every adult on the planet has that herpes, look it up on the internet if you don't believe me."

and yep, its true. I suppose I have herpes. and eppy... so do you. I kissed you one of those nights you passed out on my couch. If you didn't have herpes, you do now.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

too late for mouthwash X'D

[Eppy 3,446]

meh all that means is that if you thought you had herpes...then after that i hate to tell you that its 100% certain you have it after that

[gokuDX7 2,871]

lol its not herpes, I stay indoors for months on end looking at a computer screen. I think that explains enough.

I talked to my friend today who's in medic school and ask him about my throat. He said it sounds like either an infection or its from allergy's (which I don't normally have). Since its getting better I should just keep spraying throat stuff on it and drinking tea.

[gokuDX7 2,871]

just a small update, the white in the back of my throat is about gone. The pain is gone but still comes back whenever I drink or eat things and boy does it hurt like a mofo. The side of my throat is still inflamed. So I guess its healing on its own. I hope the pain goes away this week. I hate not being able to enjoy food .

[Pchan 5,162]

I wouldn't take meds past their expiration date, whatever their form.