Disposal of needles/expired insulin

[CAROLYN K]

Curious about what anyone does to dispose of used needles/expired insulin. I have a medical needle box the vet gave me when Milo was diagnosed for needles. I also have expired vials of insulin sitting. Since I have several vials, I have been drawing up the unused, expired insulin and taking with me to the hospital where I work and discarding it our med room box for wasting meds. My box is soon full so that may be going with me as well. Just wondering what everyone does with theirs.
As a side note, I did contact the manufacturer of ProZinc just to be sure they do not have smaller vials available-they do not. I hope to put a thought in their minds on smaller vials since so much is wasted in our situation.

 

[ZhiLi]

Curious about what anyone does to dispose of used needles/expired insulin. I have a medical needle box the vet gave me when Milo was diagnosed for needles. I also have expired vials of insulin sitting. Since I have several vials, I have been drawing up the unused, expired insulin and taking with me to the hospital where I work and discarding it our med room box for wasting meds. My box is soon full so that may be going with me as well. Just wondering what everyone does with theirs.
As a side note, I did contact the manufacturer of ProZinc just to be sure they do not have smaller vials available-they do not. I hope to put a thought in their minds on smaller vials since so much is wasted in our situation.

Hi there! So, my cat was just diagnosed about a month ago, he is on ProZinc as well. With his used syringes, I put them in an empty coffee can, when it fills up, our vet will actually dispose of them properly. I keep the can labeled and put away.


I'm very new to all of this, I'm still trying to figure it all out.

 

[FrostD]

Many vets will do it, but perhaps call your city's maintenance department? Or whoever collects your trash/medical waste. We have two designated days a year to drop off expired/unused medications, medical waste, and other random things like oil based paint, light bulbs, etc

 

[FrostD]

Curious about what anyone does to dispose of used needles/expired insulin. I have a medical needle box the vet gave me when Milo was diagnosed for needles. I also have expired vials of insulin sitting. Since I have several vials, I have been drawing up the unused, expired insulin and taking with me to the hospital where I work and discarding it our med room box for wasting meds. My box is soon full so that may be going with me as well. Just wondering what everyone does with theirs.
As a side note, I did contact the manufacturer of ProZinc just to be sure they do not have smaller vials available-they do not. I hope to put a thought in their minds on smaller vials since so much is wasted in our situation.

Also how long are you using vials for? We usually use them(and from is still effective) at least 6 months, as long as it's been refrigerated and not contaminated

 

[CAROLYN K]

Also how long are you using vials for? We usually use them(and from is still effective) at least 6 months, as long as it's been refrigerated and not contaminated

I only use 60 days from opening and first puncture of the vial as labeled from the manufacturer.

 

[FrostD]

I only use 60 days from opening and first puncture of the vial as labeled from the manufacturer.

Yes, most of us find they're good much longer than that. Of course, your decision/comfort level. I've always been able to use to last drop without any issues/loss of efficacy, even at lower doses.