Scarleteen

I bought lube at some point and the packaging says that you should use it up in 3 months after opening it. It has been 3 months since buying it and I didn't use it up. What am I supposed to do now? I assume I should dispose of it, but idk how to dispose of it. The expiration date that is written on it is 2025 - 4 if that helps.

It's fine to keep it, those warnings about when to discard it can be safely ignored so long as you don't see any signs of it going bad, such as discoloration. You can throw it out, but you really don't need to. The best way to tell if it has gone bad is if it smells different, has a different color, or otherwise is off. For now though, you can keep going, but remain vigilant. Keep it out of direct sunlight and extreme tempratures.

That's good to know. If it has no smell and has no color, the rules still apply, right?

Hey there -- yes, I'd say so! Also continue to pay attention to how your body reacts to it. If you experience burning, itching, or redness that might also be a sign the lube is unsafe to use.

Hypothetically, if that happened, would I need to go to a doctor or something? I'm not sure I'd want my parents to know that I've used lube before-

Hello!

Not necessarily- just wash the lube off if you experience any burning, itching, or redness- in all likelihood, they'll go away on their own in some time. You might need to see a doctor if there's no sign of the irritation getting better after a day or so, or if it's painful.

Actually, before you use the lube, you could patch test it on another part of your body- that should tell you whether it will irritate your skin.

I understand not wanting to talk to your parents about this kind of thing- if you did go to the doctor, would they be with you during the consultation? Using lube isn't the only possible cause of irritation, so if they won't be with you during the meeting, and if the doctor will respect your privacy, you may be able to give them an excuse.

(That said, using lube is normal and good, so if you're ever in a situation where you need to tell someone about a health issue like this, and if your parents won't get upset, don't feel like you have to be embarrassed to talk about it.)

That's good to know, thanks!! I think my parents hopefully wouldn't be angry if that happened, but I just don't like sharing that information with them (I don't have a good relationship with my parents).

Hey anonym05!

This is a slightly different approach to the suggestions above, but I'm thinking that you do get to use your discretion with instructions like "use within 3 months" if you personally don't think it looks, tastes or smells bad, and you don't want to get rid of it. But that's your own decision. If your inclination is to be thinking: "uhhh I dunno, I don't trust it and I don't want a bad reaction" then it's also totally valid to get rid of it, and is in line with what the manufacturer has recommended.

If you do decide to get rid, modern water-based lubes are generally pretty neutral in terms of environmental dangers, but I prefer to spare the waterways and sanitation plants anything unexpected, so emptying it onto some other household trash, and then washing out the packaging to be recycled is probably the best way. Travelling out of town burrying it 6 foot deep in a inch thick metal box, is not necessary but is also acceptable.

The piece about not wanting parents to know about any sex related illness/injury is relateable! At that stage I think it can be a good idea to say that you want more privacy when visiting the doctors, i.e. they don't need to know why you're going if you don't want to tell them, you can also ask your doctor about how they respect that privacy.