re:needles and syringes

[bethmoggie]

my needles and syringes are out of date in November, do I need to replace them? Wonder if they are no longer sterile.

Thank you.

[Nackapan]

Replace in November .I've always had a long expiry date so not come across this

[bethmoggie in reply to Nackapan]

Thank you for your reply. I have googled it and the needles and syringes may no longer be sterile but there are different opinions so I’m going to replace them. I have had them since the start of lockdown when my GP phoned me to say I could no longer have a jab and to get some B12 tablets. She has since apologised not realising I had no intrinsic factor. Got to be on the ball to keep well.

Kind regards

Elizabeth

[Nackapan in reply to bethmoggie]

Oh did you mean Nov 2023 ?So your injections shoujd be reinstated then at the surgery?

As they've apologised I woujd ask for a prescription to inject at home if you prefer that ?

[bethmoggie in reply to Nackapan]

I inject myself monthly, I get ampules from Germany and my gp is ok with that, no suggestion a prescription could be given. I can do it without pain and you never know, another pandemic may be on the way.

[Nackapan in reply to bethmoggie]

Prescription as well as ,I meant .So probably on your medical notes then which is good.

[FlipperTD in reply to bethmoggie]

If they've been kept appropriately, then there's little chance of them losing sterility. However, it's unwise to use stuff that's out of date, and I couldn't recommend it as an approach. They put dates on them so that simpletons like us can rotate stock. However, old stuff still works. WW1 munitions which have been in the ground over 100 years are still very dangerous indeed, for instance!

[helvella in reply to FlipperTD]

In the PPE issues from 2020, large quantities of stock were found to be out of date.

The approach used was sometimes just to re-label the stock...

Issues such as deteriorated rubber components meant that some masks could not remain in place. But I don't remember sterility being an issue so long as the packaging had not failed.

[FlipperTD in reply to helvella]

You're absolutely right. I would be somewhat reticent about the large amounts of so-called 'PPE' stuff however. No idea about storage, no idea about content or suitablility.

If the stuff had been kept in a suitable dry atmosphere it would probably have been OK, but at least someone who has bought materials in date, and kept them a bit too long is probably safe using them, if it's not perishable stuff.

Is there anybody on this site who could honestly say that every item of tinned food in their cupboards is in date? I know I can't!

I've got some one piece coveralls from Foot and Mouth time, and I suspect they'd still be OK for something.

[CocosMummy]

I'd use them if it was me. As long as you know how they've been kept etc. I might give the sharp a wipe with an alcohol wipe like I do my injection point but I wouldn't panic too much. When I worked in a pharmacy, we used to send anything like that that was out of date to a charity that sent it all to Africa to use in their free hospitals. If they can use them with no problems then I don't see why we can't 😊

[bethmoggie in reply to CocosMummy]

Thank you for your advice, I will do that, you have reminded me to order some wipes. I inject monthly, so don’t use more than 15 needles a year so I have quite a few in the boxes. Take care,

Elizabeth

[CocosMummy]

You’re very welcome. I’m the same & mine will probably go out of date too. I did give a load to my son’s partner as she needed to inject after surgery & would have had to pay out for them on prescription but it seems such a waste. I don’t know where you get your injecting kit from but I have found Medisave to be the cheapest & fastest. Not just for injecting kit either, first aid kit, I occasionally breed spaniels & get my sterile medical kit from them too. All really well priced - I used them in the pharmacy, that’s how I know about them 😉.

Take care & have a great weekend 😊

[bethmoggie in reply to CocosMummy]

Thanks for your advice, I use Medicare for dressings too, very reasonable too.

I hate waste there is too much in the medical world. Good thing to pass some on.

It’s not great here today, very wet so indoor chores today. Hope it’s better where you are.

Keep well.

Elizabeth