And did your milk even come to your store from the dairy, or did it hang out at a distribution center first? And, of course, milk spoilage correlates to the habits of the humans who co-inhabit your domicile with you, too. If you live with people who leave the carton on the table the whole time they eat their Post Toasties, I would think your milk would live a shorter life than if you live with people who return the carton to the fridge immediately after pouring it on their cereal.
All the delivery, storage, and utilization issues that impact milk also impact blood glucose test strips, and the older they are, the more these variables stack up. But wait. But every brand of strip is fundamentally different. Different makers of test strips use different enzymes and chemicals to create their propriety systems. One company might choose a less stable enzyme that gives better accuracy at the cost of shorter life; while another might choose less accuracy for better long-term storage.
Yet a third company will choose the cheapest alternative. Of course in theory they know exactly how long the damn things are good for, but we should also consider their liability, because I guarantee that they do. So on that basis alone, they need to set the bar lower to protect themselves. Taking all of that into consideration, I think most strips, if stored properly, can be used for a good period of time beyond their official expiration date.
Bottom line, I think strips are fine for some period beyond their expiration date, but I have no clue how long a typical strip might last. I think that the older the strip, the more likely it is that it will let you down. Maybe not. I can assure you that there is nothing arbitrary or deceptive about how test strip expiration dates are chosen and, in fact, it is not only in the best interest of the patient to have the longest possible product shelf life, but it also benefits the distributors of the product and the manufacturer of the test strips as well.
Legally, the manufacturer must ensure the product performs as claimed in the labeling. To meet this requirement, at LifeScan, we conduct tests to monitor the performance of our test strips over time. Once we determine how long after manufacture the test strip performance is valid, say 18 or 24 months, this information is used to calculate the expiration date that is applied to the strip vials at the time the strips are made.
Therefore, test strip performance does change over time and it will no longer perform as intended. It is important for patients not to use test strips beyond the expiration date as LifeScan cannot guarantee the performance of the product and incorrect results could pose a risk to patient health. The FDA also warns patients not to use expired test strips. In addition, expired product and product with short shelf lives constitute a business expense that must be managed.
Often we cannot sell product with a shorter than usual expiration date short-dated product because wholesalers, distributors and pharmacies are concerned that they will not be able to sell short-dated product in a timely fashion and it will ultimately need to be returned — which is costly from logistics standpoint.
In addition, we the manufacturer accept returns from channel partners for expired product, which must then be destroyed in a compliant manner at our expense. Our goal is to have the longest possible shelf life while protecting patient safety by ensuring our products perform as claimed. This is not a medical advice column. We are PWDs freely and openly sharing the wisdom of our collected experiences — our been-there-done-that knowledge from the trenches. Dollars for Strips has five convenient locations up and down the East Coast and even an option to mail your test strips in!
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Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. We buy unused, unopened or undamaged and unexpired diabetic test strips from consumers. Receive your cash in as little as 2 business days and we pay your shipping cost. At DollarsForStrips. Some restrictions apply. Click here to learn more. Only in Philadelphia or Baltimore. Follow these simple steps to get your cash in as little as 2 business days.
By Dollars for Strips. In Sell Diabetic Test Strips. What about the lifespan of these blood glucose test strips? For years, it has been debated whether people with diabetes can safely use expired test strips. Some claim that the test strips can be used for a short period of time beyond their expiration date if the test strips have been stored properly and any damage to the strips has been avoided.
However, this could lead to an inaccurate reading of the blood glucose. Most experts maintain that the test strips should be used before the expiration date, which should be found on the strips or the box, in which they arrived. Accuracy is key when testing your blood sugar. Before considering using expired test strips, it is vital to ask yourself a few questions about their potential effectiveness.
This includes how they have been stored, or have they been exposed to dampness or high humidity levels. It is also crucial to take into account how long after the expiration date they can be safely used, and which are the potential risks of using expired test strips. One of the reasons why most diabetic patients do not hesitate to use expired test strips is the belief that they always give a lower value than your actual blood sugar reading.
However, this is a misconception. Patients believe that they just need to add a few numbers to the reading provided by the glucometer and that would be the correct reading they would have got if they had used the un-expired strips. So, they think that as far as the reading with the expired test strip is slightly lower than the normal range, it can be considered to be normal. And in case, the reading shows a higher value, they perceive it as their blood sugar level is too high for which they need to seek medical advice for the correction of dosages or anti-diabetic drugs.
This is why; they continue to use the test strips that are expired. This false belief can prevent them from adopting healthier dietary and lifestyle habits or even consulting a physician when the reading of the blood sugar test shows a lower range as they perceive it to be a normal range. However, the fact is that the strips may not always give a slightly lower reading than your actual blood sugar levels.
It may show slightly lower, slightly higher, very high, very low, or even normal values of your blood sugar levels. In short, the expired test strips can work in an unpredictable manner. Hence, it is impossible to know your correct blood sugar levels by adding or subtracting a few numbers to the reading you get using the expired strips.
This suggests that expired glucose test strips can give a high as well as a low reading and hence, should not be used. The chances that it will give you a correct reading is too less making it a highly unreliable way to monitor your diabetes control. While some glucometers are designed to reject the expired strips, not all of them do so, putting the patients at a risk of having a wrong reading in case they happen to use one.
Moreover, researchers from the U. CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that the old glucose test strips can also sometimes give inaccurate readings, even when their date of expiration is not over. So, there is also a mild risk of getting an inaccurate result when the strips are nearing their expiry dates. Most glucometers do not reject the strips that are nearing expiration dates. Hence, it is advisable to check the expiry date of the glucose test strip before use and discard them once their expiry date is near or over.
The use of strips that have expired or are near the expiration date can give a wrong reading, believing which could prevent you from seeking the right treatment for ensuring optimum control over diabetes. Just like the expired test strips, even the use of expired lancets should be avoided to be able to manage your blood sugar levels in a safe and efficient manner. However, the reason may be different. The use of an expired lancet may not lead to an inaccurate reading as the lancet is needed only to prick your finger to get a drop of blood.
However, using an expired lancet sometimes called drums might cause an infection at the site of puncture as it might have lost its sterility. Hence, it is advisable to discard the lancets once their expiry date is over. This is specifically important for diabetic patients as the rise in blood sugar levels can make them vulnerable to develop infections easily. So, the use of expired unsterile lancets may facilitate the entry of infectious organisms into their body putting them at risk of infections.
This marks the need to check the expiry date of the lancets before use. Healthcare professionals also caution against the tendency of diabetic patients to use expired lancets or test strips as a cost-saving measure. The FDA has warned that saving money by using expired or pre-owned lancets and strips may be a highly unsafe practice in the short run as well as the long run. Doing so can carry a potentially higher risk of serious infections or even death.
Relying on the accuracy of such tests to monitor the blood sugar levels and manage diabetes could also eventually lead them to develop serious complications due to the wrongly perceived higher or lower than the actual readings. The incorrect reading can cause them to adopt certain measures that may not be suitable for improving their diabetic control. It may also prompt them to change the medications or their dosages, which could further worsen their diabetic control.
So, the complications arising due to the infections or inaccurate readings can only increase the expenses the patients have to bear due to the additional treatments and hospitalization involved to correct them. This is why; it is strictly advisable to avoid using expired lancets and test strips not just to avoid complications but also to save unnecessary healthcare expenditure. For example; inaccurate readings provided by the use of expired or compromised blood sugar testing strips might trigger a number of health issues like hyperglycemia.
Hyperglycemia may trigger a life-threatening condition called diabetic coma or ketoacidosis that develops when the body does not have enough insulin.
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