# blood sugar test strips



## Anonymous (Oct 13, 2008)

Just thaught I would let everyone know, accuview strips and the coder have gold on them.

This makes me wander what is on the other brands that is a gray metal.

Do not know that I would mess with them from someone else, but I will be processing my own. Maybe I can get some of that 1.25 each back.


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## Jehu (Oct 16, 2008)

humm, that soumds like a good idea. My mum has an accuview kit so I might get her to save hem for me. I know her blood is clean so I should be ok. 

It's the actual strip right? The one you dip into the blood.
Also doesn't the little chip that you have to put in every time you get a new pack of strips have gold plated pins?

Also wouldn't AP kill any viruses/bacteria in the OLD, DRIED, DEAD blood cells anyway?


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## Harold_V (Oct 16, 2008)

Jehu said:


> Also wouldn't AP kill any viruses/bacteria in the OLD, DRIED, DEAD blood cells anyway?


If time didn't, incineration would.

I used to process the pads from EKG tests. I'd get large bags full from one of the local hospitals. I don't know that I'd do so today. They were troublesome to process, but yielded a fair amount of silver. 

For those that don't know, the pads are about 2" in diameter, and are made of foam rubber and a disc of plastic, with two buttons in the center, to which the leads are attached. The buttons act like rivets in that there is one on one side, made of pure silver, which is held by a second button, on the opposite side, silver plated brass, that is riveted to the first via the protrusion in the center. The protrusion becomes the snap to which a lead is attached. 

I used a punch press and die set that I made to recover the silver buttons, although a trace of the pad and plastic disc was included. The buttons were incinerated after recovery to eliminate the unwanted substances. The balance of the pad, worthless and heavily contaminated with hair and other objectionable substances, was then discarded. 

This was long before AIDS and hepatitis C. I'd be concerned about them in today's world. 

Harold


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## Anonymous (Oct 16, 2008)

Sorry, I gave wrong name it is accu chek.

I know that the chemicals and stuff should take care of the nasties, but you have to handle them before the chemicals get the chance.

I know it could be done safely but the all important question arrises would it be worth the xtra effort of handing stuff that could have unknown pathogens, I fear them, but not chemicals, chemicals dont reproduce.

Jim


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## qst42know (Oct 16, 2008)

All the hospitals around here are religious about their Bio-hazmat procedures. All materials either go to companies licensed to handle this material for incineration or they incinerate in house. They are quite secretive about it all. I would not be surprised to find they are well aware of what ends up in the ash pit beneath their furnaces.


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## butcher (Oct 18, 2008)

Call the Biomed engineer, also the telecommunications dept, also the data processing dept, these are the guys who work on the eqiuptment, usually lots of old stuff laying around, yes biohazard disposal has changed and there are companies who put bins to recycle for the metals, medical industry is large user of precious metals, they used to be very high grade, like other industrys as these metalsprices soar and plating and electronic industry get better the Precios metal content is lower, but still up there with military grade, boy the old stuff was loaded, also they Have different biohazard bins now even for things that probably should be thrown with the rest of hospital trash, I cant help but to think someone is profiting from this and the poor sick people have pay with high medical bills.


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## Jehu (Oct 19, 2008)

Realy it wouldn't be a good idea to process waste from hospitles due to the biohazard risk. I would only process from known sources, like next of kin, where you know their history and are pretty sure you won't get some nasty vius from them.


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## butcher (Oct 19, 2008)

hospitals will not let you process biohazard wastes, (that is strictly controlled)but they consume a huge amount of our precious metals that are usually eventually thrown away, many computer,electronics, large xray equipt,test equipt,large industrial electrical,the list goes on.


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