Don't Cry Over Spilled... Blood?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So I had another first in my 2+ year nursing career.

I've got an active bleeder, popped in a couple of lines, and have an order to run 2 units of uncrossed blood. I hang the first bag, spike it, start priming the filter element when, the whole element/tubing assembly "unspikes" and comes right back out in my hand... and the blood starts pouring all over the place.

Have you EVER had the spike come right back out? I mean, jeez, they're tough to pull out when I'm trying to, and this one just... plop, right back out.

I'm standing there in a puddle of blood telling people, "It's CLEAN blood, it's CLEAN..."

What a mess.

Specializes in being a Credible Source.

A humorous - but kinda sad - part of the story: This patient is very worried about staff getting a needle stick off of her and cautioned me when I started. I assurred her that I presume every patient has HepC, HIV, distemper, Ebola... you name it... and that I'm very careful with needles.

So the blood starts pouring out, I mutter something about the blood, and she replies in horror, "Oh no!" thinking that I'd had an exposure. Reassuring her that I was fine - and that she was, too - helped to snap me out of my shock and back into "Mighty Murse"... Hmm, perhaps time for a new AN handle :0

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Specializes in LTC.

I woulda said...It's ok..just my lunch!

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

One of my co workers just spiked through a FFP bag the other day. She was hanging it in a hurry. Oops. I took that one back and got her a new one.

I am always getting the spike through the side of IV fluid bags. I have given myself a shower many times.

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Haha, awesome!

Had something similar happen once. I just forgot to pinch the line when I unspiked the tubing and blood dripped out and got on my shoe/the floor. One of the aides FLIPPED the eff out and was like "omg that's so gross! there's blood all over your shoe!" I was trying to explain it was clean blood and even tried to tell her that it was cleaner than anything else in the hospital. Still didn't help. Some people just have a total blood phobia. It's funny to me. *shrug*

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