Follow instructions for use (blue disc, person reading)
The standard’s wording, as the sources below reproduce it:
“Signifies that the instruction manual/booklet must be read.”
ISO 7010-M002 · IEC 60601-1, Table D.2, safety sign 10
What it means for you
An order, not a hint: read the instructions before using the equipment. IEC 60601-1 lists it as the “follow instructions for use” safety sign on medical electrical equipment, and Boston Scientific’s glossary notes it “must appear in color” there. The outline book with an i on packaging (ISO 15223-1, 5.4.3) asks you to consult the instructions for information; the blue disc makes reading them mandatory. Hillrom also uses a customised version beside a web address where the instructions can be downloaded.
Whether a device is right for you is a question for your pharmacist, nurse or doctor.
- What it looks like
- A solid blue disc with a white figure holding an open book — a mandatory safety sign. Printed in one colour it looks like a dark disc with the reader cut out.
- Where you see it
- On the housing or rating plate of monitors, pumps, beds, oxygen concentrators and CPAP machines, often next to connectors or controls that need care.
- Other names
- refer to instruction manual/booklet; ISO 7010 M002; blue manual sign; mandatory: read the manual
What it does not tell you
It does not say what the instructions warn about, or which part of them applies here. Only the manual does.
Often confused with
Indicates the need for the user to consult the instructions for use.
More symbols in “Blue, red or yellow safety signs”
Sources
ISO 7010 and IEC 60601-1 are paid standards, so the wording above is quoted as 4 publishers’ public documents reproduce it; our drawing is not the ISO artwork. Each was fetched and read on the date shown:
- Boston Scientific: Symbols Glossary — Row ISO 7010-M002 “Follow instructions for use”, IEC 60601-1 Table D.2, Symbol 10: “Symbol must appear in color. Limited to Medical Electrical Equipment covered by EN 60601-1.” Checked 2026-09-28.
- Hillrom: Symbols Glossary (80022945 Ver. J) — Row “Refer to instruction manual/booklet / Follow instructions for use — Signifies that the instruction manual/booklet must be read.”, ISO 7010-M002, “The blue in the symbol appears gray in a black-and-white document.” Checked 2026-09-28.
- Medela: Symbols Glossary (101046886 A) — “Refer to instruction manual/booklet — Signifies that the manual/booklet must be read.”, IEC 60601-1 Table D.2, No 10, ISO 7010-M002, “NOTE ON ME EQUIPMENT: Follow Instructions for Use”. Checked 2026-09-28.
- ICU Medical: Symbols Glossary (IFU0000017 Rev 02) — Row “Refer to instruction manual/booklet — Signifies that the instruction manual/booklet must be read”, ISO 7010 reference #M002. Checked 2026-09-28.
Plain-language parts are in our own words; quotations are the sources’ wording.