do you reuse oral medicine syringes? if so, how to clean them in between uses?

[Jenbirdee]

some days i use several 1 ml syringes to give things like b complex or calcium gluconate to a few of my ducks when they need them.
i rinse them well in hot water and vinegar then let them air dry until using them again. I normally don’t toss one out unless it starts malfunctioning like sliding too easily or too difficult.
is this bad? Sometimes I wonder if I could be passing germs from one duck to another because I don’t have them labeled with duck names on them I tried that once and it wears off very quickly.

 

[coach723]

I sometimes wash and reuse oral syringes. I wash with soapy water, rinse well and air dry. A bit of alcohol if needed. The exception is if I'm using one on a sick bird, especially if there is any chance it might be contagious, then I don't reuse that syringe, I toss it. But for wormers, vitamins, giving fluids or hand feeding, I see no reason to waste money when they are still usable. If I'm using a syringe to flush a wound, I will use a new one as I don't want to chance adding bacteria in a wound. I actually have a labeled ziplock bag that contains my washed, used oral syringes that are still fit for use.

 

[Jenbirdee]

I sometimes wash and reuse oral syringes. I wash with soapy water, rinse well and air dry. A bit of alcohol if needed. The exception is if I'm using one on a sick bird, especially if there is any chance it might be contagious, then I don't reuse that syringe, I toss it. But for wormers, vitamins, giving fluids or hand feeding, I see no reason to waste money when they are still usable. If I'm using a syringe to flush a wound, I will use a new one as I don't want to chance adding bacteria in a wound. I actually have a labeled ziplock bag that contains my washed, used oral syringes that are still fit for use.

thanks for your reply it’s helpful !

 

[ChicNmom]

I reuse a lot of them. I use a straw cleaning brush for reusable straws to clean inside.

 

[Jenbirdee]

I reuse a lot of them. I use a straw cleaning brush for reusable straws to clean inside.

Oh, that’s so cool. I didn’t even know that was a thing.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I get a little bowl of hot soapy water and I use each syringe to suck it up and then squirt it out several times. Then I do the same with clean water to rinse each one out on the inside. Then I take each one apart and wash the parts in soapy water, rinse well and let air dry. I keep them in a Tupperware container until I need them again. But this is just for giving wormer. If I had a sick bird I would use a syringe only for that bird, cleaning between uses, then throw it away when treatment is complete.