Eye Wash - Expiry Date?

[Metal Head]

Hi,

Do we have any health (related) professionals here?

If so, would you please confirm if the expiry date on these tubes of saline is -

August 2001

or

January 2008

The second image is better at picking the date as the first one was to give you an idea as to how many I have.

Thanking those in advance for their replies.

PLEASE READ MY OTHER POST FURTHER DOWN

Cheers
MH

[Burnsy]

I can't make out the date on them but can make out that they are Australian. I would think that they therefore should be following the Australian nomenclature of day/month/year so where month and year olny is stiputated month/year. I am not a health professional though and maybe they have a different standard just to screw with us laymen.

[Chesand]

Like Burnsy said.
If made in Aust the expiry date is usually Month/Year therefore it would be Aug 2001. How long have you had them as the usual expiry date is about 2 years after manufacture. However as they are still sealed they would be better than nothing if necessary
They are really cheap (about a dollar an ampoule) so if in doubt go buy some more. After all eyes are worth a hell of a lot more that.
America is the other way round with expiry dates.

[Daddles]

Try one on your brother-in-law. If he's unhurt, they're safe to use. If his eyes dissolve in yucky steam, you know you did the right thing

Richard

[Metal Head]

Hi,

Thanks lads for your replies - Daddles I don't have a brother-in-law (BIL) I dislike enough to try your advice however if you had said mother-in-law (MIL)............

These were samples taken from first aid boxes within a department at a University within Melbourne. Given the money ($$$millions) flowing into the University sector I would have thought updating the first aid boxes would be a cheap exercise.

Do you think workcover/safe would be interested to know that other departments are as laxed (as this one) which might be compromising staff and students safety within the workplace?

I don't know if there are any laws/regulations pertaining to how often first aid boxes should be checked for all the contents being there and have not expired.

Cheers
MH

[Chesand]

Hi MH
I do not know if there are regs regarding checking of first aid kits in such places. There were certainly rules on what should be in first aid kits depending on number of employees and type of activity undertaken.
I used to do first aid supplies for tugs many years ago and there were certainly rules and regs for checking and what was carried on them. Seagoing tugs always had a much broader range of supplies and equipment than the tugs that operated in the bay. Also used to supply some small factories and always checked them monthly.

[graemet]

MH,
Definitely 2001! However, if they have been stored in a cool place and out of sunlight, they're probably OK. After all, normal saline is just .9% salt water. The only way they could alter is for the plastic packaging to leach something into it and this is highly unlikely.
I wouldn't have a problem using them, but if they are for public use, then replace them.
Cheers
Graeme

[bansheez71]

I agree with graemet. I've used saline 5 years past its date before. The only way it would be 2008 is if came from Europe.

http://www.ballewsawandtool.com

[rrich]

Like Burnsy said.
If made in Aust the expiry date is usually Month/Year therefore it would be Aug 2001. How long have you had them as the usual expiry date is about 2 years after manufacture.

America is the other way round with expiry dates.

The way that I read the expiration date is August of 01. (This century assumed.)

I just checked a couple of tubes of medical skin creams made in or for the US market. On the end of the tube the expiration date is MMM YYYY.

On the basis of what a doc told me, I take expiration dates to be legislative rather than chemical reaction. The doc said, if the color or consistency hasn't changed and the smell is normal the drug is safe to use. The only exception was pediatric solutions that were mixed by the chemist. (i.e. Amoxicillyn) He said that those are usually useless three weeks after being mixed.

[Terry B]

I would read it as 2001 but it is only saline and probably harmless. Having said that it is very cheap stuff and easy to replace.
I regularly use out of date meds on myself but wouldn't risk it on a patient.