Author Topic: Ancient bandages  (Read 1247 times)

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Ancient bandages
« on: 26 September, 2014, 09:28:19 am »
In our cellar I just discovered a first-aid kit that we bought on moving to Germany 36 years ago.  It used to live in the car (as was obligatory), and has never been used other than to extract some sticking-plaster to cover a crack in the windscreen-washer tank.

I've junked everything that was marked "sterile", but there's a dozen mixed bandages, including triangular ones, that have been sealed in cellophane and look OK. Think they'll be OK to use?
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: Ancient bandages
« Reply #1 on: 26 September, 2014, 10:11:51 am »
I suppose they're still *clean* but if it were me, I'd lob them away and replace with new ones.  Bandages aren't that expensive and when it comes to first aid kit, I like to make sure that the stuff in my green box is recent and functional.

That said, I've got a bunch of Israeli field dressings that I bought short-dated and are probably expired now.  If I wanted longer-dated ones, they were fairly pricey and my feeling on the matter is that they're hermetically sealed to the sort of standard that makes them soldier-proof and if I've just severed a decent sized blood vessel with an axe or a sword or something, I'd rather have an out of date military dressing than a current one from Boots.

My QuikClot's still well in date though  :)
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

Re: Ancient bandages
« Reply #2 on: 26 September, 2014, 11:31:54 am »
quickclot. ugh.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Ancient bandages
« Reply #3 on: 26 September, 2014, 12:40:32 pm »
Ancient cotton cloth, as in triangular bandages, is probably fine if it's not been attacked by vermin.
Any scarf will do for a sling so I don't think this would be a problem if there are no holes.
Anything elastic can degrade and should be replaced.

Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Ancient bandages
« Reply #4 on: 26 September, 2014, 01:18:04 pm »
Aren't first aid kits *still* mandatory? I've just bought a German car and it came with one. Not as gucci as in ye olde days, though. I don't know what sort of accidents they expect you to have in Berlin but they must have been pretty grim 30 years ago. My Dad's Merc had a first kit that would have equipped a small field hospital.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Ancient bandages
« Reply #5 on: 26 September, 2014, 01:57:28 pm »
Ancient cotton cloth, as in triangular bandages, is probably fine if it's not been attacked by vermin.
Any scarf will do for a sling so I don't think this would be a problem if there are no holes.
Anything elastic can degrade and should be replaced.

Thanks, I was hoping for your expert advice. Yes, I've tossed everything perishable. The burn dressing was rather sorry-looking and the Hansaplast looked like a relic from the Santa Maria. The main thing that delights me is the crooked scissors, for one of our dogs has a dressing on his leg that is due to come off this weekend. The dressing, that is.  That is also why I was pleased to find the bandages, just in case it needed renewing. We have Betadine & sterile compresses etc.

@Pancho Yes, the kits are still mandatory in Germany, but we no longer live there.  The police are quite capable of checking their contents, too. Back when AIDS was penetrating the public consciousness they introduced a rule that all first-aid kits had to contain a pair of sterile rubber gloves, and a week later a chum was stopped and fined for not having any.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Ancient bandages
« Reply #6 on: 26 September, 2014, 02:30:53 pm »
Dry things are generally fine if undamaged and wrapped well.
Anything wet or sticky is unlikely to endure.
Rubber perishes. This applies to tyres, tubes, gloves, balloons and condoms. (I think the latter three were produced by the same company.)
Lycra degrades much faster than latex...

Zipperhead

  • The cyclist formerly known as Big Helga
Re: Ancient bandages
« Reply #7 on: 26 September, 2014, 03:07:09 pm »
What's wrong with a roll of gaffer tape and a few cable ties? If you can't stop the blood loss with that, well you weren't going to make it anyway.
Won't somebody think of the hamsters!

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Ancient bandages
« Reply #8 on: 26 September, 2014, 04:24:06 pm »
^^^ yes well, they can replace condoms as well but the results can be distressing.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight