Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items?

On Mon, 5 May 2008 10:09:55 +0100, "Duncan Heenan"
<duncanheenan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

>I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' 
>offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have
never 
>used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in it may
have 
>gone off and need replacing. can anyone help?

Why do you think anything has gone off?

These kits contain inadequate bandages in sealed plastic packages.

Sterilised water in a sealed container or plastic sachets

Metal tweezers - probably still in a plastic package and blunt
scissors (ditto)

Plus perhaps a general purpose cream which has 'supposedly' some
capacity against infection.

Assumming the whole lot has been kept in a sealed dry container then
nothing will have come to harm, the plastics will have been kept from
uv degradation and the whole lot will have been ****elded from light
and damp. Given you will not be doing surgery and opening great wholes
in a body already weakened by disease what more will you need?

Well I'd suggest a bit of wound glue (first aid in any boots), a few
sterile wound pads (ask your pharmasist, they sell an awful lot on
prescription to cope with the damage left by mrsa infections) in a
variety of sizes (buy them larger than you expect), and some tape to
hold the pads in place. Oh and a few plastic disposable gloves, just
in case you've been picking your nose or unblocking the loo.

Use by dates are largely there to limit litigation - they relate to
the the testing the manufacturer chose to do - not the life of the
product.

First aid is after all - remove foreign bodies - wash clean - cover -
get to professional advice.

This is usenet advice - with all its inherent caveats