Monday, March 7, 2011

Out Dated Test Strips

A couple of weeks ago, one of my T2 friends brought me several boxes of test strips that were about to go out of date. She doesn't test as often as her script is for, so sometimes her strips go bad before she can use them. If she catches them before they are outdated, she brings them to me, since I use them much quicker.


The date on these boxes was 02-2011. It's officially March now. Technically they are outdated and I still have a full box and a half of a box left to go. That's 150 strips that I really hate to throw out. Does anyone know any stats on accuracy beyond the expiration date? Are they still safe to use? Are they still accurate (or as accurate as any strip gets, since we all know accuracy in test strips leaves much to be desired)?

I have been using them for this week. My blood sugars seem to be accurate. I haven't had any that have made me question the results. But how long can I keep this up? Should I still keep this up?

Have you ever used expired strips? Have you ever had a bad experience using expired strips? Give me your opinion, D-OC. What do I do? Toss them (or send them to Lee Ann for art!)? Or keep using them? If you think I should keep using them, how long should I keep it up?

3 comments:

Consciously Chaotic said...

I could use the answer myself. Co. says not to use them b/c they Are not accurate. My son uses them for an extra month without any problems.

Dawn @ Sugar Free Candyland said...

if it were me, id pitch them... better safe than sorry!

Valerie said...

I haven't used expired test strips, but I have used expired insulin and that worked just fine. I've been told not to do that because it can lose its effectiveness, but it had been expired for at least a year or two and I didn't have any trouble with effectiveness. It's up to you, but if they seem to be lining up with your sensor, then I might not worry too much? Although I agree it is better to be safe than sorry!