Getting stuck

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hi,

Also today at work when I was taking out someone's port needle, I ended up sticking myself. Not hard, but just a little poke, not any blood or anything. One of the nurses told me to fill out an incident report to be checked for hepatitis, etc. But my charge nurse said it was up to me. Another nurse told me she wouldn't bother. I'd have to go to ER, pee in a cup, have all the blood tests run on me and to tell you the truth I just didn't have the time today, I was so far behind. What are the chances that I could catch hepatitis from this patient or something else for that matter???

Amy:confused: :confused: :confused:

Specializes in ICU/CCU (PCCN); Heme/Onc/BMT.

Glad that you're taking care of yourself.

I had a "stick" after flushing a mid-line port on a patient who was HIV postive, Hep. B & C positive !!!! Boy was I anxious over the whole situation!!! Did a whole year's testing! It gave me peace of mind knowing that I was negative. That peace of mind was worth the hassle of all the testing.

Ted

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knowing your status in this field................

very scarey......because our field deals with life that we all deal with...............

just micro 0.02 cents.........

micro and out

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The needle stick thing is what is so scary about nursing and totally contributes to the nurse shortage. When I talk to young people about nursing this is what keeps them away. Seems to me better syringes or something need to be developed. There has to be a way to stop this from happening.

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I concur with the earlier poster: always report an incident (such as a stick). If someone in management suggests you not do so, ignore them.

Trouble is, the times a nurse is likely to get stuck are busy times already. The nurse is often rattled, gets stuck, and then feels guilty for taking the time to fill out the report. But do it anyway.

For you, Amy, it's too late to worry about it, so try not to do so. Maybe you made a mistake, but we all have our share of those. Keep your chin up.

Jim Huffman, RN

http://www.networkfornurses.com

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tonicareer is on to something, but I must say that these new "safety" syringes,angiocaths etc...can be MORE hazadous that the old way. Needless is the best way (for flushing and IVP's). I stuck myself twice with (thank god)clean "safety" syringe needles. They are ackwark,stick,and unpredictable in my opinion.

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Yea needless is best. I look forward to star trec technolog where a sergon no longer cuts.

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FILL OUT THAT INCIDENT REPORT!!!!!!!!!!

OMG..if your a nurse, you KNOW that taking precautions is a MUST!! It is better to know for sure than to wonder the rest of your life, possibly allowing a potiential fatal germ run-a-muck in your wonderful nurse body....not to mention exposing all those other people you come in contact with....like your family!!

One of my friends, a former EMT, was helping to secure a wacked out patient....Doc was 'trying' to administer an injection to calm him....my friend was stuck in the arm....since then, he has endured a liver transplant, takes TONS of medication daily, has chronic Hep C, lost a lot of weight, tired all the time and can't work. lives on disability and is only 37!

Please sweetie, do the right think and get that incident report filled out, get tested and do it ASAP!!!

Good luck!

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KAYCEE: I have a question, you said "since the blood was already drawn, we didn't need to get permission".... I presume to do the HIV testing? At our facility, HIV's are not drawn until the pt gives a signed consent, lab will not draw till the papers are done, also Doc has to order the test on the pt, no cost to the pt, of course, it is not an automatic order.

Also, I agree with the others, no matter how insignificant the stick may have been, get checked, for the documentation and your own safety and peace of mind.

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I had an exposure two nights ago. I was giving a patient a bed bath when the water I was washing him with (which was full of diarrhea) splashed up and got me right in the eye. He was a known AIDS patient (unbeknownst to me because he rang to be cleaned up before report and no one bothered to mention it; else I would have donned goggles) but I flushed my eye and then had to go to the ER to be seen and since he was an AIDS patient with PCP/PNA and who knows what else they started me on the antivirals. They said it was a low risk but now I have to deal with the psychological thing. Has anybody had any pyschological effects after being exposed to a patient with a non-curable disease?

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Reabock,

When an employee has a needle stick and the known pt. can't give permission because of condition(this pt. was decreased level) or if the pt refuses, if there is blood already in the lab(from other tests) they can do HIV testing without the pt's permission. You can't draw blood from a pt for HIV testing without their permission, but if the lab's already got some and it's an employee needle stick you run it!!

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One of the reasons I chose the facility where I now work is that the nurse's union mandated a needless be implemented. I feel that is extremely important, why would a facility knowingly choose to endanger its staff? I say make sure to bring it up at your next contract negotiation. In the long run they found it to be less expensive as now they do not have to pay staff for lost time, expensive meds, testing, etc. from a needlestick. It is so much safer to do a needless IVP than have to stick a patient numerous times per day!

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Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surgical.

Hi everyone...

Thanks for all your posts. I just got back from a little getaway with my family in the sun, it was wonderful. And YES, before I left, I followed up the next day and called my manager and was told to go to Occ Health to get my blood drawn. At first, since the patient had been discharged there was this big thing because they said we'd have to call her back to give some blood. But then the lab said they had some extra blood of hers that they could use. They are going to test it for HIV and Hep C. They said that they would follow me for six mos. The doctor also prescribed an antibiotic for me but I don't think I'm going to get it filled. It's for Keflex. What about you guys? Ever had to take an antibiotic for a needle stick? I agree about the safety of our needles, but this was a Huber/portacath needle that I was discharging....

Thanks everyone for your concern!!!

Amy

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