When I started working in this school nurse office 3 years ago , I threw away a ton of expired and old things. Like mouthwash that had no expiration date on it, but was a syrup-like consistency. Toothpaste that expired in 2009. I found some old first aid kits with aspirin in it that expired before Obama became president. So needless to say, I cleaned and purged a bunch of stuff a few years ago when I took over this office.
I found some sterile gauze that had an expiration date on it stamped 2/2011. I put them aside because, well, it's gauze!! I just found them again.
So here are my questions.
Why does sterile gauze have an expiration date on it? Is it because of the glue that holds the glues the "packet" together can be guaranteed to be sticky enough to maintain the sterility of the gauze?
Do the gauze fibers themselves degrade?
I'm frugal with my budget and I thought I would tear these sterile gauzes open and throw them in my non-sterile sponge bin. I definitely use non-sterile sponges more than sterile gauze here. So I did that and the expired "sterile" gauze is yellower that the sponges.
Should I just give up and chuck the yellow expired sterile gauze? That's what I think, but I hate to waste stuff.
This is the #1 burning question in my school nurse practice so far today. Jealous, much?
Farawyn
12,646 Posts
I invented post its.