Dried blood

pixiestudent2 · Jun 1, 2015

Or ARE they..?! O.o

Dun dun DUUNNN

I am crying laughing right now.

yeezimiller · Jun 1, 2015

You are very kind. I appreciate it. My question is does pancreatitis alcohol influence relate to hep c at all

SWM2009 · Jun 1, 2015

OP is a practicing nurse, right? Some of the statements she/he are making make me wonder what exactly was taught at their school.

ixchel · Jun 1, 2015

Hey everyone, I'm a new nurse and I think ima a completely hypochondriac. Last night I flushed my pt IV which had some blood return(because he always turns it off or puts the fluids in hold) and as I was flushing it was blocked so much that it squirted on me and some went on my shift and I think on my face. My biggest concern is that idk if it went in my eyes or mouth. This pt is homosexual and may be a drug abuse but nowhere in the chart said he had hiv or hep c. Should I be worried? What are the chances of it being blood that squirted on me or the saline mixed with some blood fluids? I'm freaking out !

Nurses at my jobs throw IV tubings in the sharps container and make the container unable to do it's job which is to drop the sharps in the container. Are we more at risk for sharp related injuries now because a sharp can possibly be at the opening of the container or does it drop it off anyway as far as the tubing

Sometimes these daniels smartsharp containers are not on the best place on the wall and you can bump into them. Are you at risk bumping into a full sharp container that doesn't retract anymore?

Have you ever touch a side rail and saw dried blood or touch a counter and saw dried blood? Do you panic? Or just simply sanitize or wash your hands. What's the chances of transmitted infection if the blood is a few hours old

OP, in the short time you have been on AN, these are the threads you have started. I genuinely believe that a course in microbiology would benefit you. Also, you should take time to refresh yourself on the immune system, blood borne pathogens, and disease communicability. I do feel you spend more time thinking about this than a typical person might, and if reviewing the above-listed topics does not help, you may want to speak to someone (occupational health, maybe? A counselor?) about this. It is natural to feel nervous about everything we are exposed to on a day to day basis, but to worry about IV tubing, sharps containers, potential IV drug users, and flash back getting on you is not rational. (I mean that from a position of support, not antagonism.)

Nurse to nurse - As an aside, if you have an IV line that will not flush with gentle pressure, don't force it. Look under the dressing to see if the catheter is kinked. If it is not, gently massage where you anticipate the catheter ends. Try flushing again. If it doesn't flush, it's blown. Never force fluids so hard in a stopped line that it squirts you with back flow. If a clot is occluding the line, you'll be forcing it into circulation.

yeezimiller · Jun 1, 2015

Thanks for that comment. But why is everyone being mean because I'm worried?

MrChicagoRN, RN · Jun 1, 2015

You are very kind. I appreciate it. My question is does pancreatitis alcohol influence relate to hep c at all

i suggest you Google "alcohol and hepatitis." As a licensed clinician, I would think you'd be best served to do some research to decrease anxiety. Then come here if you still have questions.

most of the answers can be found in less time than it took you to compose these posts.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Jun 1, 2015

Thanks for that comment. But why is everyone being mean because I'm worried?

Probably because in addition to being worried, you have revealed that you do not have a good understanding of communicable diseases, which as a registered nurse you absolutely SHOULD HAVE. I guess some people find this annoying. I'm not defending it, but please understand that your comment about someone with a past history of pancreatitis creating some kind of hazard for you completely blows your credibility.

For your own professional knowledge and also for peace of mind, I suggest you do some reading about the occupational hazards nurses face and how to decrease your risk. Read also about communicable diseases, and blood borne pathogens, their transmission rates, etc., so that you can whittle your fears down to the few reasonable ones with which you should concern yourself. And I hope you don't consider advice to speak to a professional about your anxiety as being rude. It's actually quite good advice and could help you immensely. My daughter is getting her Ph.D right now in clinical psychology, concentrating in anxiety disorders, invasive thoughts, and OCD, and it is very encouraging to learn from her how much help is available for people with these problems.

Good luck.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jun 1, 2015

Closed for review.