AIBU to use out of date antibiotics?

[WhatIsThisPlease]

I've cut my finger and thumb getting my Invisalign trays out, deep in the nail bed.

They've gone septic and are really sore and throbbing.

I've got some Flucloxacillin which I think would be fine but the expiry date was December 2021.

Will they be ok to take?

No. Go and get actual advice and treatment that’s not gone off.

They will be absolutely fine but you need to take a full course. @PeterpiperpickedapeckofpickledPEPPAS Five month OOD antibiotics have not gone off!

Easier said than done!!
It's impossible to get an appointment. I've been trying for two days.

For a small finger wound and assuming you aren’t having any symptoms of sepsis (no fever or generally feeling unwell for instance - check the list on the nhs site) try a pharmacist tomorrow morning.
Tonight, you could try bathing your hand in salt water - disolve loads of table salt in hot water and soak your infected fingers in it. You want the water hot but not hot enough to burn you.

Do you have an Urgent Treatment Centre you can visit rather than trying to get a GP appointment?

@LilacPoppy

Thank you. I thought they'd be fine too 🤷‍♀️

I will take the full course.

Absolutely not, if the drug has weakened you could help the bacteria causing the infection to become antibiotic resistant. And there's no guarantee that your current infection is caused by a type of bacteria that can be treated with flucloxacillin. Medical advice needed, and hand the old drugs back to a pharmacist for proper disposal!

I've spent two days with it in hot salt water. I've doused it with TCP and out Germoline on it.

It's not agony, just sore and swollen. No other symptoms at all.

Paronychia is often treated with this antibiotic.

Don't take them. Call 111 and get seen.

Part of the reason why you shouldn’t just take random antibiotics you have lying around is that is can contribute to antibiotic resistance if it’s the wrong type or if you don’t have a full course and it doesn’t completely kick the infection.

I’d take them.

Sorry OP. It’s really shit that the system is so overloaded that you can’t get medical advice in a reasonable timeframe. The problem with asking on here is that you have no idea whether anyone replying knows what they are talking about or not. I have zero medical training so do bear that in mind!

Thank you, I didn't think about antibiotic resistance.

I think I might have access to an online GP through work. I'll go and dig out the emails and see how to set it up.

I won't take the antibiotics, thanks everyone.

Different bacteria are sensitive to different antibiotics so your out of date antibiotics may not be appropriate anyway as well as being too weak or degraded in some way.
I wouldn't risk it.
Phone 111.

You can't just take a random antibiotic you need a Dr to tell you which one to take and for how long.

And take your out of date medication to a pharmacy to be disposed of safely. Don't chuck it in the bin or flush it or fish die and stuff.

You need to speak to an HCP. If you injured your finger with braces that had been in your mouth for a while treatment might need to be more along the lines of that for a human bite rather than a skin infection (wouldn’t necessarily be fluclox).

Why do you even have antibiotics around!?? It's really important to finish every course, even if you think you're over the infection. Take the old ones back to the chemist for safe disposal (all about antibiotic resistance, as others have mentioned). Hopefully you can get to see a medic of some sort & a new & appropriate prescription.

Thanks everyone,

I managed to download the app thing from work and now have a video appointment with a GP tomorrow morning.

@LostInTheColonies I had a weird reaction to a covid jab and was told to inform doctor who gave me antibiotics saying it was an infection from the needle. I didn't believe it was so I didn't take them. I don't really like taking them if I can help it, and as all three injections reacted the same way I figured it was a mild allergy to the jab.

Flucloxacillin is exactly the antibiotic you need for a tissue infection and it is unlikely to have lost potency in less than 6 months (unless it is liquid)
I think there's good odds that's exactly what the doctor will give you tomorrow!

Glad you have an appointment. As others said unless you are medically trained in diagnosing skin infections no don’t take them, they could be the wrong type and might not work right out of date.

I'd take them because as a PP said, flucloxacillin is exactly what would be prescribed for a tissue or skin infection and they won't have completely lost their potency yet.
I always find BNF online really useful when I need to look up different types of drugs.

Why did you collect the prescription if you weren't going to take them? What a waste.

I’d totally take them. I wouldn’t be booking an appt for something like a cut nail to be honest