General Question

QueenOfNowhere's avatar

What does this expiring date mean on drug?

Asked by QueenOfNowhere (1871points) August 15th, 2011
9 responses
“Great Question” (0points)

Someone scratched my arm with nails, so yesterday I had two marks on. It hurt a lot. I put “Furacin, soluble dressing” cream on it which is yellow. The next morning it formed a yellow crust. I am concerned. Did I make a mistake on putting the cream? I don’t understand how it will heal since the crust is yellow (the color of the cream) so I’m thinking it is basically the cream and not the crust of the skin. So will it ever heal or will it have an ugly scar now.

It says the expiring date is 09 13. Does that mean 2013 or 2009?

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Answers

JLeslie's avatar

It means 2013. Luckily there is no 13th month, so you don’t have to guess. Why not just go to the store and buy some neosporin or bacitration ointment.

snowberry's avatar

I am not familiar with your cream. However, it sounds like your body made a scab. Is the area painful to the touch? If it is, it’s infected, and maybe you need a different kind of ointment. I’m guessing the expiration date is September 2013.

QueenOfNowhere's avatar

@JLeslie Lol!!! I can’t believe I created a 13th month.

@snowberry It hurts to touch and white liquid kept coming from it yesterday and it bled a bit.

JLeslie's avatar

If it is red around the wound, take a pen and draw around the edge of the redness, if it grows you probably need an antibiotic. When I have cellulitis it usually grows about a centemeter every 12 hours. If you have red streaks coming from the wound and traveling up towards your heart, you must go to the doctor, it is an emergency. Maybe you are allergic to the ointment you used and that is why it hurts.

snowberry's avatar

White liquid, swelling, redness, and pain means it’s infected. If you’re not in a position to go to a doctor, try soaking it in hot (as hot as you can stand) salty water. Put lots of salt in it and make sure it dissolves. It might hurt for the first few times you put your arm in. for an hour or longer, and continue to do this until the swelling goes down (I know, this means a big bucket). Put a bandage on there with lots of antibiotic ointment. Don’t let it dry out, because if it dries out, the infection will not be able to drain, and will remain inside.

The more infected it is, how deep it is, and how long it stays infected determines how much scarring you will have, so take care of this quickly.

cheebdragon's avatar

You could have just used hydrogen peroxide….

Mariah's avatar

From what I read quickly about Furacin, it seems to be mainly for burns or skin grafts that are infected. Not quite applicable.

I would recommend neosporin or polysporin. And I can pretty much guarantee that you didn’t screw anything up by putting furacin on it. It just probably wasn’t very effective for your injury, yet it probably wasn’t harmful either.

XOIIO's avatar

wow. 13 months huh?

filmfann's avatar

Drug experation dates are “for desired effect”. Some drugs become weaker after that date, and some become stronger! Some become other drugs. Seriously.
Discard expired drugs.

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