Yesterday, my sister had stuffy nose. So, my mom asked me, the registered nurse in the family, if we could give nasal drops of Sodium Chloride. So she checked the expiry date, I checked it also. After giving it, I realized that it was past 3 months its expiry date. I only read the year, I don't know why I did not bother to look at the month. I know this was just as mistake at home, or it's just sodium chloride but I am beating myself up. I kept thinking to myself that if I make small mistakes, what more mistakes am I capable of even though I am triple checking everything else in the hospital. I researched about it, and mostly I read that the expiry date, for this case, only affects the sterility since it's salt and water. Any thoughts? thank you:) sorry but I am really bothered by something so shallow, I think.
research by the us armed forces showed that medications past their expiration dates were for the most part unaffected in terms of efficacy and safety; exceptions include insulin and sublingual glycerin trinitrate. this doesn't mean that you ought to give expired meds, or not check the expiration date, but it does mean you don't need to stress :)
it's also not a bad thing to be reminded early that drug errors can happen however careful you are. most people learn from their mistakes, but there are any number of things that can go wrong with medication administration, and so there's no point when you can wholly relax about it - i recently celebrated my 21st anniversary since i began nursing, and i still make drug errors, because the ward's busy, there are so many meds, and i get interrupted. plus i'm human.
the important things to keep in mind are: be alert, but don't freak out about medication administration; check the order, the medication, the patient and follow the rights of med adminstration; seek assistance (another nurse, pharmacy, mims) when you need it; put your hand up when you make a mistake - however bad it is, covering it up is worse; and learn from both your mistakes and those of your colleagues.
i wonder how they did that research. upon whom?
interesting item - i recently used a ten year old inhaler. not sure why i still had it. it did not help me.
however, i have, in the past, used inhalers expired within 2-4 years. they were nearly as effective as any unexpired item i'd ever used.
Kooky Korky, BSN, RN
5,216 Posts
i wonder how they did that research. upon whom?
interesting item - i recently used a ten year old inhaler. not sure why i still had it. it did not help me.
however, i have, in the past, used inhalers expired within 2-4 years. they were nearly as effective as any unexpired item i'd ever used.
but do not do that with patients, obviously.