General Medical issues thread

[Pushka]

With the severe shortage of hand sanitizer I really appreciate your response k_sheep. Mrscove is a use by date freak for many products.

Mrs Cove is very wise. I’m not careful enough. I’ve been feeling very fatigued of recent times and I shouldn’t be based on activity. For some reason I checked the expiry date of my thyroxine - this controls metabolism of pretty much everything. I’d had to up my dosage over the last couple of years and I had a number of older and less strong tablets already dispensed so a few weeks ago I thought they were a waste so I started using them up. On inspection they had been dispensed almost three years ago! And I think a shelf life of about 18 months.

 

[k_sheep]

With the severe shortage of hand sanitizer I really appreciate your response k_sheep. Mrscove is a use by date freak for many products.

I'm using doxycyline exp 2014 with good effect!

#notmedicaladvice

Excluding food, the vast majority of use-by dates mean they might become less effective, not useless or dangerous. So use more if concerned! It's the alcohol-induced evaporation which causes bug-killing, so long as it's still doing that, then go nuts.

Note to self - do trial with in date and out of date alcohol gel then swab hands after to count bacterial colonies .... one day when I get bored at work .....

Edit for pushka: Yes some medications are quite unstable (thyroxine quite known for this - hence often needing refrigeration depending on formulation) and this definitely doesn't apply!

 

[VPS]

I'm using doxycyline exp 2014 with good effect!

#notmedicaladvice

Excluding food, the vast majority of use-by dates mean they might become less effective, not useless or dangerous. So use more if concerned! It's the alcohol-induced evaporation which causes bug-killing, so long as it's still doing that, then go nuts.

Note to self - do trial with in date and out of date alcohol gel then swab hands after to count bacterial colonies .... one day when I get bored at work .....

Edit for pushka: Yes some medications are quite unstable (thyroxine quite known for this - hence often needing refrigeration depending on formulation) and this definitely doesn't apply!

And someone in the lab is going to say - WTF does k_sheep want this for

 

[Pushka]

Edit for pushka: Yes some medications are quite unstable (thyroxine quite known for this - hence often needing refrigeration depending on formulation) and this definitely doesn't apply!

Well at least I kept them in the fridge..... for over two years. My how time flies!

 

[k_sheep]

They are used to me doing odd things.

"What's this plate with k_sheeps name and "DO NOT DISCARD" written on it in the incubator?" Other, more experienced scientist - "for the love of god don't ask".

I'm quite famous for picking up interesting dead bugs and getting them processed to see what they look like under the microscope. Mosquitoes and ticks have a LOT of blood in their gullets FYI ....

 

[cove]

Having never had any 40% vodka ever having ”gone off” I was thinking the hand sanitizer might fit into that category.
Had a vodka lesson with some Russians one evening..._if you get the 40% bottle you won’t have a headache the next morning. Never drink the 37% stuff.....

 

[prozac]

Having never had any 40% vodka ever having ”gone off” I was thinking the hand sanitizer might fit into that category.
Had a vodka lesson with some Russians one evening..._if you get the 40% bottle you won’t have a headache the next morning. Never drink the 37% stuff.....

The date on products is generally more about the product tasting at it's best and less about it going off. Heck they even put date stamps on some packets of rock salt. With hand sanitiser I expect you won't notice much deterioration of taste.

 

[SuePa]

I've never had them want somebody to stay with me at home after biopsies or colonoscopies

I had to get my mum to come and stay with me after my colonoscopy. It was a little embarrassing, a bit like being collected from the principal's office. ( Hmm, i think she might have had to do that in the past too.)

 

[JohnK]

I've been stressed more than usual lately and was suffering from anxiety a few evenings.

I was struggling to breath and constantly searching for deep breath which is usually a sign of hyperventialting. I was eating cheese and biscuits and drinking coke zero when I mixed in 1/3mg Xanax.

It's so hard to comprehend how that medication did it's trick in 5-10 minutes and I felt fine again. The finely tuned human body never ceases to amaze me.

 

[JohnM]

Ever heard of the placebo effect @JohnK?

 

[RooFlyer]

It's the alcohol-induced evaporation which causes bug-killing,

That's very interesting, thanks. I didn't appreciate the evaporation was a key part of it. I knew it evaporated quickly but I just thought that was the 'convenience' factor in cleaning your hands on-the-go and it was the alcohol that did the sanitising (and the alcohol 'compound' might be degraded in the heat). How does the evap bit contribute?

 

[Flying mermaid]

With the severe shortage of hand sanitizer I really appreciate your response k_sheep. Mrscove is a use by date freak for many products.

Is it just the travel size ones that are gone or all hand sanitiser? Dr FM will be travelling as soon as her work visa comes through, so I asked Mr FM to pick up some at the chemist for her. The pharmacist recommended one to him (he said a lot of them weren’t very good). He also said not to bother looking for any travel sizes ones as they are all gone, but just to buy a big one and transfer enough for the journey into travel containers.

 

[JohnK]

Ever heard of the placebo effect @JohnK?

Yes I have and I've also taken 2mg of Xanax and still not able to breathe feeling like I'm suffocating.

The human body is a wonderful creation but comes with quite a few bugs.

 

[k_sheep]

That's very interesting, thanks. I didn't appreciate the evaporation was a key part of it. I knew it evaporated quickly but I just thought that was the 'convenience' factor in cleaning your hands on-the-go and it was the alcohol that did the sanitising (and the alcohol 'compound' might be degraded in the heat). How does the evap bit contribute?

Citation needed!

Dead set, a quick google hasn't revealed anything. But in med training we were constantly told you had to let alcohol wipes and alcohol-based cleaners to dry before you could go ahead with whatever procedure you were doing, to allow the evaporation to work. Hmm ....

 

[Major]

6 monthly visit to my skin cancer Doc. 1 early stage BCC to side of face and 1 BCC in the middle of the back.

Couple of jabs of local and out with the scalpel . Job done for about 70 odd excisions now.

Thanks Doc. See you in 6 months

 

[tgh]

I was chatting to my GP who was shaking his head
A Blue eyed blonde who spent his whole life out in the sun…...mostly shirtless/hatless and burnt nearly black...
ff to a now mid term septuagenarian who still spends his life outdoors .. and…..so far.. has had one skin cancer…
lucky me….I will die of something else….genes rule...

 

[cove]

I have a BCC to get removed on 24th of Feb.
The liquid nitrogen did the rest.

 

[SuePa]

Job done for about 70 odd excisions now.

Arrh, don't tell me that! I had 3 stitches out yesterday from my first ever bcc and I'm still worrying about it bursting open - bit of a panic merchant. I have an appointment with a 'sun' dr in 2 weeks for a full check and im not looking forward to that. I'm guessing he'll find more.

 

[Milboo]

The date on products is generally more about the product tasting at it's best and less about it going off. Heck they even put date stamps on some packets of rock salt. With hand sanitiser I expect you won't notice much deterioration of taste.

Basically the best before date on food, other consumer goods etc is essentially the date to which the manufacturer is prepared to stand behind any claims associated with the product e.g. kills 99% of germs, vitamin efficacy, nutrients will be at stated level etc or the quality of the product.

Beyond that either the product degrades so as not to deliver the stated benefits or quality or the manufacturer does not hold research to substantiate a longer claim.

Use by date is different - that has public safety or health reasons behind it eg dairy products. It’s illegal to sell products past the UBD.

But to complicate matters. If the shelf life is longer than 2 years, you don’t need a BBD - think baked beans for example.

 

[Antoallison]

My wake up call last year was diagnosis of very early stage melanoma.

Born in the UK, fair skinned and freckled after a childhood in WA without suncream, sunglasses, sandals and most of the time no hat.

I used to envy the girls who could get a quick tan ...now I admire Nicole Kidman ..pale and interesting.