Hi All,

I would like to know everyones elses opinion on first aid supplies having expiry dates.

I understand it for sterile items but we have expiry dates on things like cool packs which should never come into contact with open wounds and therefore has no need to be sterile. The cool packs we buy from a large supplier have expire within 18 months which I think is ridiculous. We do not get through a lot of first aid supplies and so it just seems such a waste having to throw everything out. I know there are people who can use the expired items for training etc but that does not help with our cost of having to repurchase everything every year or so.

I am leaning towards feeling that a lot of items are only given expiry dates to create more revenue for the companies selling them.

What does everyone else think?

Hi,

We have decided to replace (in rotation) our kits so nothing actually goes out of date and we can keep an eye on the cost too. The kits that have been replaced we then gift the to local charity organisations Cadets, scouts, guides etc. For them to practice with.

Thanks for your responses so far.

For the moment we have decided to do what Kate suggests and test a small sample of the items that are out of date. All of the cold packs we have tested so far seem to work fine so I guess they may just be being a little over cautious with the expiry dates.

If anyone has any other ideas on how to avoid wasting what appears to be perfectly good first aid supplies I would be very interested to know!

Totally agree I was concentrating more on the 'packs' being able to still get hot/cold over time.