[Dawn30]

Tonight I was nearly done my med pass in the LTC I work in. I was giving my last resident her insulin injection and after finishing I was engaging the saftey guard when it stuck and my hand slipped and I poked myself in the finger. It bled right away and I squeezed as much blood out of it as I could get then washed my hands with soap and water right away, cleaned it with alcohol then reported to my supervisor. Because I work the 3-11 shift, I have to wait until MONDAY to get a script from the facilitys' Dr. so that I can get blood work done. I know this pt. pretty well and none of her DX are blood borne but I'm still nervous. I have been a nurse for exactly 1 year and 2 weeks and this is my first incident! I'm just wondering if I should be worried or if I'm getting myself upset over nothing. I have a huge knot in my gut right now. I hate waiting.

[busygirl0809]

never, never, never, put a safety gaurd back on a used needle, just drop the used needle directly in the sharps container. If no sharps container is available put the needle on a table then put the top on and do it very carefully never hold the needle in your hand while putting the gaurd back on. Next time you may not know the patient so well. Be safe, this stuff is serious.

[ocb_dave_ocb]

Originally Posted by busygirl0809

never, never, never, put a safety gaurd back on a used needle, just drop the used needle directly in the sharps container. If no sharps container is available put the needle on a table then put the top on and do it very carefully never hold the needle in your hand while putting the gaurd back on. Next time you may not know the patient so well. Be safe, this stuff is serious.

As it were, the above poster stated that they were engaging the safetly sheath.. In my facility it just slides UP and locks.. Im sure that is what they were talking about NOT recapping the needle.. I wouldn't stress out too bad, if you know they have no harmful dx. JUST TRY TO BE MORE CAREFUL, next time that is..

David

[abundantjoy07]

Those safety mechanisms on the insulin needles are crap. The slide up kind...horrible because they are flimsy and involve you sliding your finger up along the edge of the needle. It would be wonderful if all needles had the spring lock in place like Lovenox needles.

If you're not comfortable with a safety device (like those on insulin syringes) then just hold it away from you and dispose of it directly into the sharps container.

You did the right thing after the stick and that's the most important thing. I wish you good luck with the tests and all...continue to be safe in the future!

[DudeNurseRN]

Originally Posted by Dawn30

Tonight I was nearly done my med pass in the LTC I work in. I was giving my last resident her insulin injection and after finishing I was engaging the saftey guard when it stuck and my hand slipped and I poked myself in the finger. It bled right away and I squeezed as much blood out of it as I could get then washed my hands with soap and water right away, cleaned it with alcohol then reported to my supervisor. Because I work the 3-11 shift, I have to wait until MONDAY to get a script from the facilitys' Dr. so that I can get blood work done. I know this pt. pretty well and none of her DX are blood borne but I'm still nervous. I have been a nurse for exactly 1 year and 2 weeks and this is my first incident! I'm just wondering if I should be worried or if I'm getting myself upset over nothing. I have a huge knot in my gut right now. I hate waiting.

Sorry to hear you got stuck!

It happens, whether a person has 1 yr or 30 under their belt they can still get stuck. My friend had it happen the other day as well. Same kind of needle. She didn't end up catching anything.

Should you be concerned. Nah. You and I and all nurses chose to be in a profession where we work with sick people, and needle sticks are one of the things that can go with the territory. You chose a very giving profession. Why doesn't everyone join the police or become a firefighter, well it's because not everyone is okay with getting shot, beat-up, or risk getting caught in a fire. Working in medicine is the same way, we're caregivers, we work around sick folk all day long, and we might catch something (I know I have before).

The big bad blood buggies are not fun, but even if you were to catch one of them (The Heppies or (H)otel (I)ndia (V)ictor (as my military buddy reffers to it)) life would end up being a little different, you'd get treatment, you'd adjust, and life would go on.

Waiting is never easy, but if I were in your shoes, I would put thinking about this on the back burner, and head out and enjoy the rest of your weekend. You've done all you were supposed to, and can do about this situation currently. Worrying won't help, but fun might.

[Suesquatch]

Originally Posted by abundantjoy07

It would be wonderful if all needles had the spring lock in place like Lovenox needles.

I RECAPPED a Lovenox needle b/c I was too much of an idiot to read the box and none of us knew how to use the safety feature. Wouldn't ya know the needle PIERCED the cap and got me.

Don't worry. You'll be fine. Really. You can't catch dementia and CHF or any of the various dx your LTC resident has.

[idle-mind]

It's tough. My first stick, I sat around worrying for freaking ever. Just try to protect yourself always, don't take short cuts, and if it happens even when you're taking precautions, just realize that sometimes stuff happens. I was on epivir for prophylactic purposes after a dirty needlestick (combative, needed an ABG, was hep C and HIV positive) - and I have to tell you, I was sick and nervous. The stuff made me sicker than I've ever been in my life. However, I knew the patient was high risk, so sick now was better than sick forever.

Good luck with all your testing, and I hope everything goes well for you. It sounds like your source patient was fairly low-risk.

Jennifer

[CarVsTree]

You'll be o.k.

One nice thing is, it was a SQ injection, very little blood. Ergo, very low risk.

Try to relax. I got stuck (when I was a tech!) when a nurse was giving an IM injection into a crazed patient. When she withdrew the needle, she stuck me. This guy was the poster child for Nancy Reagan's Anti Drug campaign.

Remarkably, he didn't have Hep/HIV. Even if he had, there is probably more risk involved in the prophylactic cocktail for HIV than actually contracting it. Glad he consented to labs so I didn't have to make that choice.

Remarkably, he didn't have Hep or HIV.

[Dawn30]

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. I'm starting to relax a little. My D.O.N. is going to get try to get consent from the resident on Monday for lab. She's AAO and knows I got stuck so she will probably consent. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my weekend and not think about it... much. Thanks again to everyone.