Storing supplies correctly

General information about the equipment, not medical advice. The directions that came with your medicine and the person who prescribed it come first, every time.

Sterile packaging is the product

A sterile syringe is only sterile while its wrapper is intact. A pouch that has been opened, torn, crushed or got damp is no longer a sterile item, whatever the date on it says.

Which means the packaging is not something to get rid of to save space. Leave things in their boxes and blisters until the moment you use them, and check the pouch before you open it.

Cool, dry, dark

Room temperature, out of direct sunlight, away from heat and away from damp. A linen cupboard is usually fine. A car boot in an Australian summer is not, and neither is a windowsill or the cupboard above the kettle.

Adhesives are the most temperature sensitive things in a normal supply cupboard. Tape and plasters that have been hot go gummy or stop sticking altogether, and there is no way back from that.

Anything that says refrigerate belongs in a fridge at the stated temperature, not in the freezer and not in the door where the temperature swings every time it opens. Most consumables do not need refrigeration; the medicine often does.

Batch numbers and expiry dates

The batch or lot number identifies the production run. It exists so that if a problem is found, the affected run can be traced and recalled precisely rather than pulling everything. It is the reason keeping the box is useful.

The expiry date on a sterile single use item is the date the manufacturer guarantees sterility and performance to. It is not a best-before and it is not conservative padding. Past it, the guarantee is gone.

Use the oldest first. Put new stock behind old stock rather than on top of it, and check dates when something arrives rather than when you reach for it in a hurry.