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Jam87ie  
#1 Posted : 16 August 2018 14:59:25(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
Jam87ie

Hi

Looking for some advise. Me and a collegue are having a debate on the exporation date of the first aid stock.  At my new site pretty much every first aid box is stocked with products that have past their expiry date. 

Is the ruling to throw away or donate to training centers or can you keep them in the boxes to be used.

I beleive that the date is on them for a reason and should not be used after this date. My collegue says its fine as long as the contents are sealed correctly.

Thanks in advnace

Jamie

murrayphillips  
#2 Posted : 16 August 2018 15:14:39(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
murrayphillips

It is frustrating to dispose of items which we know are still good but the manufacturer has put a date on it and you can't argue with that !

Use them for training purposes by all means.

thanks 1 user thanked murrayphillips for this useful post.
Jam87ie on 16/08/2018(UTC)
George_Young  
#3 Posted : 16 August 2018 15:27:33(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
George_Young

I would use them for training purposes or give them to schools to use as craft materials etc.

I would replace the kits, but as a first aider, I would still use an expired piece of equipment for treatment only if no in date equipment was available for treatment.

Edited by user 16 August 2018 15:28:25(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

thanks 1 user thanked George_Young for this useful post.
Jam87ie on 16/08/2018(UTC)
Kate  
#4 Posted : 16 August 2018 16:05:12(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kate

The reason for the expiry date is that they cannot be guaranteed to be sterile after this date, even if the packaging still appears sound.  (No packaging is a 100% barrier to everything indefinitely, because on the microscopic level things can penetrate).

I also use them for training, and one time I provided them for a charity activity involving bandaging a teddy bear.

thanks 2 users thanked Kate for this useful post.
Jam87ie on 16/08/2018(UTC), A Kurdziel on 17/08/2018(UTC)
stuart46  
#5 Posted : 17 August 2018 09:39:36(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
stuart46

Contact the product provider, get the definitive reason for the expiry date and then ask your colleague why he thinks he knows better? At the least make sure your objections are minuted somewhere so the finger isn't pointed at you should something untoward happen when an expire item is used on someone who requires first aid assistance. 

achrn  
#6 Posted : 17 August 2018 09:58:02(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
achrn

Originally Posted by: Jam87ie Go to Quoted Post

I beleive that the date is on them for a reason and should not be used after this date. My collegue says its fine as long as the contents are sealed correctly.

If all that matters is whether the packaging is sealed, why would the manufacturer put a date on at all?

A Kurdziel  
#7 Posted : 17 August 2018 10:12:16(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

Yes, it’s about how longa supplier can guarantee something is safe to use. It is probably safe to use but they cannot guarantee that, as they have not been tested beyond that date. If you think about it, how long could they test for? 1, 5, 10 years or 100 years? If you use something beyond its use by date and someone develops gangrene or whatever, it becomes your responsibility.

Tell your colleague that.

Edited by user 17 August 2018 10:15:29(UTC)  | Reason: spellings

chris42  
#8 Posted : 17 August 2018 10:28:48(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
chris42

Interestingly on this subject we normally purchase plasters from a well-known first aid organisation which come with an expiry date on them, however it was noted we had nearly run stocks down at one point as we hadn’t had a complete order through and someone nipped out to local large supermarket and purchased some own brand ones to be on safe side. The own brand supermarket ones have no date on box or individual wrapper! (supermarket ones are significantly cheaper, but seem just as good, though less range)

nic168  
#9 Posted : 17 August 2018 10:29:39(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
nic168

 some of my first aiders have just come back from a StJohn's course where they were told that if it is bandages and stuff that it is not used directly on a wound or damaged skin it is Ok to use if it is past the use by date and the packaging is intact. 

I would not recomend using saline washes, antiseptic  or burn dressings etc after the useby date

I have a stash of out of date cool packs- the ones you squeeze to activate-  about 200 triangular banadages and umpteen bandages assorted sizes all past their use by date. Aside form the cool packs they are hard to give away.

Nic

.

SteveL  
#10 Posted : 17 August 2018 12:59:00(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
SteveL

If you are finding diffuculty giving them away, try your local PDSA or animal shelter.

thanks 1 user thanked SteveL for this useful post.
nic168 on 21/08/2018(UTC)
HSSnail  
#11 Posted : 17 August 2018 13:16:05(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
HSSnail

Just done a little research on the internet and it would appear the expiry date on a sticking plaster is due to the effectiveness of the glue and nothing to do with sterility! Every day is a learning day!

thanks 3 users thanked HSSnail for this useful post.
Kate on 17/08/2018(UTC), chris42 on 17/08/2018(UTC), nic168 on 21/08/2018(UTC)
A Kurdziel  
#12 Posted : 17 August 2018 13:49:01(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

So you put on a sticking plaster with the aim of preventing infection by pathogens such as bacteria. But the dressing is old and the plaster does not stick. Thus it fails to do what it is supposed to do, which is why you should always read the instructions and do what the manufacturer suggests.

This of course applies to anything from a plaster, to a drill, to a particle accelerator.

   

DaveDowan  
#13 Posted : 17 August 2018 14:18:25(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
DaveDowan

Why would you put a drill on a cut ?

AL58  
#14 Posted : 17 August 2018 15:14:45(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
AL58

Hi

WE donated all our out of date stuff to our local ST johns for training

Elfin Davy 09  
#15 Posted : 17 August 2018 15:38:12(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Elfin Davy 09

One of our guys is a Scout Leader, and we donated our last batch of out of date stuff to him for First Aid training.

I got a badge out of it !  :-)

Hsquared14  
#16 Posted : 20 August 2018 10:34:20(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Hsquared14

I agree with everyone else - the date is there for a reason.  Packaging degrades and the manufacturer will have worked out how long it takes for the packaging to be breached and the contents not to be guaranteed as sterile any longer.  It's painful to have to get rid of stuff but a lot less so than having an employee with a minor injury develop sepsis because you used a dressing that wasn't guaranteed to be sterile!

pseudonym  
#17 Posted : 20 August 2018 10:38:03(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
pseudonym

Time to put tin hat on ..

Any dressing ceases to be sterile as soon as its opened and applied 

All dressings will need to be changed at some time

If I'm bleeding badly I'll probably go to A&E anyway and get stitched up so wrap me in a dirty tea towell if you must!

thanks 1 user thanked pseudonym for this useful post.
toe on 20/08/2018(UTC)
Thomo  
#18 Posted : 24 August 2018 06:57:34(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Thomo

This thread pops up every couple of years.

I assume you have brought a nice plastic 25 person first aid kit and there is an expiry date on the box, my advice take it off.

Then assess the risks and what treatment you are actually going to do.

How you are going to use it and who is going to use it: are you going to put a tamper proof seal on it?

Look at the contents, anything that is placed on a large open wound should be sterile and replaced.

Plasters don’t have to be sterile in fact most aren’t, they just need to be clean.

Bandages don’t have to be sterile, but Bandages that have a dressing attached must be sterile.

As workers scratch themselves outside of work but will need to cover them during work I provide a box of plasters in the workplace so that the First Aid box isn’t raided every five minutes just because someone wants to cover a piercing or a scratch from pruning their roses at the weekend.

Read http://www.hse.gov.uk/pUbns/indg214.pdf

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l74.pdf

Edited by user 24 August 2018 06:58:48(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

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