Could I have my license taken away

[mindiianajones]

Okay, this is all.... mostly me being WILDLY paranoid in the suing culture of our current time. I know no one here has a law degree, and I'm mostly just looking for opinions to calm my wack ass down even if it's someone just telling me to chill the eff out because I'm being ridiculous.

My mom and I are having a garage sale. There are some items we have in a homemade wooden crate box. A gentleman poking through it scratches himself on a nail that IS nailed down and not sticking up but was apparently lifted up over the years just enough that somehow he scratched his finger. I run up to the house and grab some bacitracin, hydrogen peroxide and a bandaid and patch him up.

Should they decide to sue for a scratch, if it perhaps got infected or what have you, could I lose my license for helping him in what little way I could?

[mindiianajones]

more than likely it will be fine. You should not put peroxide on wounds, just soap and water. Peroxide kills healthy cells.

You are not working under a nursing license when you are home having yard sale so I wouldn't worry and he would have to get gangrene and loose the finger before he could too, as you have to show damages. I wouldn't worry about it!!

Annie

Thank you! I was most worried about him getting tetorifice, but I haven't heard from him since it happened, so I have my fingers crossed everything turned out alright.

[mindiianajones]

A spur of the moment out of doors situation, random person, obvious cause, would have led me to behave as the OP did, inclusive of Hydrogen Peroxide due to the absence of acceptable water supply, and only the barest swipe or dab, as cleanse. If NKA, same with ointment, and light covering. These simply as a first aid measure basically contained in OTC kits made available to the general public, anyway. Another concern would be availability of gloves and contact with body fluids

ps I would hesitate taking a complete stranger into my home

Honestly, this made me feel a lot better. If only because I felt really dumb after everyone told me that I shouldn't use bacitracin or peroxide. Which is fine! I'm glad everyone told me because now I know. I just felt like duh, I should have known not to use those. I'm glad I'm not the only one who would have! And yeah, I really wanted to avoid bringing him up into the house. It just felt weird and uncomfortable to do.

[mindiianajones]

I am a nurse attorney. There are 2 issues here. One can you get sued as a homeowner for an injury on your property. The answer is yes. If he came as a friend, then you would not be liable unless it was open and obvious. However as a business invitee, you have a higher duty. The second issue, your treatment. There is a good samaritan law in I think every state. Because this was what we would argue an emergency situation, your care should fall under the good samaritan law. There can be no medical malpractice under this situation for your treatment if it is covered by the good samaritan law. Medical malpractice requires a nurse patient relationship which you did not have here. He can still report you to the Board. Anyone can. They will investigate and see if charges should be filed. Even so, it is unlikely you would lose your license under this situation.

Ah, thank you so much for this info! I can relax, now. I still really hope everything turned out okay. I'd hate for someone to get an infection because of anything I did or tetorifice which was the worst thing I could think of, but I'm glad I'd be covered in this situation. I just hope they don't change their minds and decide to sue because he got a scratch on our property.

[mindiianajones]

To clarify, rusty nails are often thought to be infection vectors for C. tetani (which is actually only true if the nail is laying around in the soil before piercing the skin).

As an obligate anaerobe oxygen (ie hydrogen peroxide) will kill the C. tetani bacterium. However the bacterium is often found in spore form in the soil and is in a spore until it is shoved deep into a puncture wound.

As a spore it can withstand anywhere from 15 mins to 24 hrs contact with hydrogen peroxide before being killed. Which is why hydrogen peroxide (which also damages the pt's cells) is useless as a bactericidal agent in such cases.

Damn, for a second there, I was thinking oh okay, then the tetorifice bacteria would have been killed off since it was just a light scratch. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best. It wasn't a deep puncture wound, thank god. Just a light scratch across his finger. The thought of him getting tetorifice was my biggest concern. Thank you for the information!

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

I highly doubt you'll find yourself in trouble for this but for future reference soap and water alone would have been perfectly fine. When treating strangers outside of work I always err on the side of a conservative approach and recommendation that they follow up with their provider.

As a point of education not only is hydrogen peroxide frowned on but there has been a rise in allergic reactions to antibiotic ointments such as Bacitracin and Neosporin. Our ID and derm docs recommend just plain Vaseline be used on a properly disinfected wound. This includes PICC line insertion sites after they've been pulled.

The reason vaseline gauze or ointment is used when a CVAD is discontinued is to prevent an AE (air embolus).It is not chosen in this case because someone may be allergic to an antibiotic ointment.The chance of an AE when removing a PICC is very very remote but not for other CVADs inserted from the neck or chest.

[Wuzzie]

The reason vaseline gauze or ointment is used when a CVAD is discontinued is to prevent an AE (air embolus).It is not chosen in this case because someone may be allergic to an antibiotic ointment.The chance of an AE when removing a PICC is very very remote but not for other CVADs inserted from the neck or chest.

Yes, I'm aware of that, as I've told you before, IV therapy is one of the areas I have expertise. However, because people were using Bacitracin we had to specifically write it out of the policy. Regardless of the remote chance of an air embolus (you and I have had this discussion before) my facility's policy requires us to use Vaseline as a sealant on all CVC sites including PICCs. I know it isn't necessary but I like my job and this isn't the hill I want to die on.