
March 6, 2005
Other
Question from Los Angeles, California, USA:
Syringes oftentimes have one to three or four small circular markings located at the base of the syringe. They are usually in the same area as the name of the manufacturer. Are these marks representing the number of times that syringe has been refurbished/re-sterilized/deemed fit to re-enter society? What are those markings for?
Answer:
Syringes are not meant to be reused. They are disposed of after they are used. Manufacturers do not reintroduce these into use. I am looking at an insulin syringe as I respond to this and I am not sure what you are referring to. Measurement lines go all the way to the hub of the syringe (the point where the barrel of the syringe meets the needle component).
JTL