BD SYRINGES - Quality Control Issues !!!

J

janabelle

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I'm posting this as a warning & a query.
I've been using 0.5ml insulin syringes since diagnosis 22 yrs ago. I always used BD (Becton Dickinson)ones, and up till a couple of weeks ago had no probs, aside from occasional faded markings.
Around 2 weeks ago I found a bit of hard plastic inside one of my syringes, luckily I noticed it before I attempted to use it. I reported it to BD and they sent me packaging to send it to them along with the rest of the packs in that box. I received a replacement box of 100 syringes from them. Last night I took a fresh syringe from a pack and found the needle bent, and I mean REALLY bent at 2, 90 degree angles! The lid came off normally and fits back on normally, amazingly, despite the angle of the needle!
I'm absolutely fuming about it, and wonder if anyone has come accross this problem.
Also I've always favoured BD syringes, as some other brands I remember using in the 80s were a bit cheap and nasty. I'm not sure if any other companies manufacture them, if anyone can advise on that I'd be very grateful.
I now feel I've got to check every new syringe, especially as i only usually take one in my kit bag, and were that to be of the aforementioned standard, I'd be stuffed :evil:
thanks
Jus
 
M

mehdave

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I have only just recently started injecting with Victoza but using 5mm BD 31G needles. I have had 2 bent in my box of 100 and one that I swear must of been blunt as it hurt and not a single other one has.

Now I see it may not be a isolated incident im thinking I may try the Novo needles next.
 
J

janabelle

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816
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Lack of choice of insulin for newly diagnosed patients.
Dog owners who let their dogs poop in the street-a hazard for most, but worse if you're visually impaired!
Having RP
That's not good :( If I could change brands I would after reading your post.
I rang a pharmacist this morning, who told me BD are the only company making insulin syringes, and said i should report the faults to the MHRA, which I've just done online. If you'd like to do the same it has to be done online, spent about 9 minutes hanging on to get to the devices dept who subsequently told me they couldn't take the report over the phone :?
Here's the link for MHRA website to report device problems http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Onlineservices/Devices/index.htm
Jus
 
noblehead

noblehead

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Jus,

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having with the syringes, this is not acceptable and you did right to report them to the MHRA.

Your post brought back memories to when I was first diagnosed, the old glass syringes were a nightmare as you know so I would often buy the disposable BD syringes for convenience, think they were around £3 for a packet of 20 which was expensive 30 years ago but I would use them more than once to get my monies worth (not advisable). :oops: Never had a problem with them back then so obviously it is a quality control issue and shame on them for allowing their standards to drop so low.

Nigel
 
J

janabelle

Well-Known Member
Messages
816
Dislikes
Lack of choice of insulin for newly diagnosed patients.
Dog owners who let their dogs poop in the street-a hazard for most, but worse if you're visually impaired!
Having RP
Thanks Nigel,
Poor you, glass syringes, I came along too late for those thank goodness! I remember there were other brands of syringes, Plastipak rings a bell :? ,; anyway the quality was so poor that you couldn't put the lid back on them without the needle poking through it-ouch :evil:
I await BD's response, will keep you posted.
Jus :)
 
J

janabelle

Well-Known Member
Messages
816
Dislikes
Lack of choice of insulin for newly diagnosed patients.
Dog owners who let their dogs poop in the street-a hazard for most, but worse if you're visually impaired!
Having RP
Hi,
quick update- I rang another pharmacist who looked in the BNF & told me there ARE other brands of syringes available-what a relief! Other brands she named are Clinipak, Insupak and Monoject, be interested to know if anyone else uses them and what they're like.
Got to weigh up whether general cr**py quality will be preferable to inconsistency in quality and bent needles :? Fed up, especially as BD didn't bother their a**e to respond today.
I'm losing my sight, I don't know how long I'll be able to trust my eyes, guess I'll move to a pen then anyway and listen for the clicks.. Unfortunately been there before, trusted the clicks and had a pen overdose me when I was pregnant with my 1st child 19 yrs ago, hence the reason I went back to syringes. Sorry for moaning, just could do without the hassle and worry :( though heard on LBC that today is statistically the most depressing day of the year, they're not wrong.
Jus
 
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