Most of the medications in my husband’s bathroom cabinet are outdated. There’s the chloroquine, filled June 2008, expired June 2009; the prescription-strength naproxen, dispensed October 2010, just expired; and the hydrocodone that should have been tossed more than a year ago.

When I asked him about his expired reserve, he laughed and said he had worse squirreled away. The expiration dates don’t concern him, since none of the medications treat chronic, life-threatening ailments. He’s happy to pop old pills if he has a sore shoulder (the naproxen), and he will take a chance with the malaria meds (the chloroquine) on his next work trip to Africa.

Is this a good idea?

Probably not, said Shelly Burgess, a spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration. She said neither the FDA nor drug companies can guarantee what happens to an outdated medication.

“The drug could retain its potency,” Burgess said, or “the drug could degrade into nontoxic impurities, giving rise to an ineffective product, or the drug could degrade into toxic impurities.”

In any event, she does not recommend swallowing medicine after its expiration date, even if it’s just a couple of months too old.

Experts also say that in a home environment, medications should be kept anywhere but in the bathroom, where humidity is most likely to cause them to degrade or lose their effectiveness.

Frank Palumbo, the director of the Center on Drugs and Public Policy in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland, said, “They should be kept in a relatively cool, dry place, outside of direct light. It could be a dresser drawer.”

Family physician Linda Thompson suggested storing drugs in plastic containers in the kitchen, well away from food and beyond the reach of children. Also, make sure they are not exposed to changes in temperature.

She said she is especially cautious about the longevity of gel capsules and liquid syrups. “Capsules deteriorate faster,” Thompson said. “They absorb water and humidity and become wet. You wonder: Is there bacteria in there?”