Is there an expiration date on a first aid kit or any supplies there in. I bought a couple of supposedly professional grade personnel first aid kits (about a foot long and 6 in diameter) that are attached to my range bags (one pistol and one long gun). While not really competent to use everything (no real training) I figured that someone else maybe able to use the stuff I don't. It has been at least 5 years and luckily I have never had to use either one. I haven't dug into them much as everything appears to be packed just right, but there are Israeli bandage packs etc. Do I need to get in there and replace dated things?
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Not really Marksmanship question but quite possibly still stupid
- Thread starter Gtummy
- Start date
Another option is you open it and inspect and replace what you need. I would encourage you to open it up and use all the supplies as practice supplies and actually practice with them. First aid shouldn't be a after thought. When the time comes you don't want to be rummaging around looking for something and then struggle to deploy it. Just my opinion.
A basic first aid course would be good.
Never know when it might be needed.
Never know when it might be needed.
Thanks, will do class soon. And working up my courage to unpack this kit and then try to repack it. LOL
Especially for "packed sterile" items with paper-like wrappings they are found often with lots of crease-marks, signs of abrasion, and the integrity of the sterile/package is questionable...
Yes. Pretty much everything expires for one reason or another. For some things an expiration date is of minimal importance and there may not even be one. Adhesives and plastics break down over time (even if stored perfectly). Eventual things will just fall apart and not be useful. Some medications get weaker with time, others become toxic.
For some things without an expiration date, I still replace them. Tourniquets are an example. It is a life safety device. Climbing rope expires in 10 years with perfect storage and no use (5 years if used). I figure the material in a tourniquet breaks down as well, and storage is usually far from perfect as they are carried, exposed to temperature extremes, possibly petroleum fumes, Etc.
Most things should have an expiration date printed on them, if it does not, it either does not expire, or it is so old that they where not required at the time (and I would replace it). At my last job, the boss would never throw anything out and as it was a small facility supply turn over was not very fast for some items. She told me, if it does not have an expiration date, it does not expire and keep it. I found sterile gloves that where so old they had became a single blob in the packaging, catheters that I could pull apart with my finger tips, suture kits from 20 years ago, and dry rotted MAST pants. No one would grab that stuff to use as it looked bad, but no one would throw it out either. I disposed of every bit of it, because if someone had used something like that on my family I would want to give them a Lefort 3 fracture and some other injures, so why the hell would I leave them around to be used on other peoples families.
Playing with the old stuff is a great idea.
For some things without an expiration date, I still replace them. Tourniquets are an example. It is a life safety device. Climbing rope expires in 10 years with perfect storage and no use (5 years if used). I figure the material in a tourniquet breaks down as well, and storage is usually far from perfect as they are carried, exposed to temperature extremes, possibly petroleum fumes, Etc.
Most things should have an expiration date printed on them, if it does not, it either does not expire, or it is so old that they where not required at the time (and I would replace it). At my last job, the boss would never throw anything out and as it was a small facility supply turn over was not very fast for some items. She told me, if it does not have an expiration date, it does not expire and keep it. I found sterile gloves that where so old they had became a single blob in the packaging, catheters that I could pull apart with my finger tips, suture kits from 20 years ago, and dry rotted MAST pants. No one would grab that stuff to use as it looked bad, but no one would throw it out either. I disposed of every bit of it, because if someone had used something like that on my family I would want to give them a Lefort 3 fracture and some other injures, so why the hell would I leave them around to be used on other peoples families.
Playing with the old stuff is a great idea.
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