Infection Control Question for Injections

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Hey Everyone... 

I write this with hesitation...I am just over a year into my nursing career. I also have contamination OCD; I know, being a nurse and battling a pandemic hasn't been the best for me. 

Right now I vaccinate individuals against COVID-19. I have attached a video of the needles I use at my clinic.  The video demos how you can engage the safety and states one manner of engaging the safety is to engage the safety after injection (engaging safety outside of the body) which it comments "may cause minimal splatter". 

At this point, I am now using a different needle, which makes it easier to engage the safety at the end of the injection, when the needle is still in the patient's arm. However, when using the syringes from the video linked below, I have engaged saftey after injection and I have noticed some "minimal splatter" as indicated by the video. This typically splattered on the carpeted floor in the area I work.  Now, having OCD, I worry a lot about fine details. I know hepatitis B specifically can live upwards of 7 days outside of the body. I also know I don't spray down my shoes after every shift, in an attempt to curb my OCD. Would you be concerned about potentially infectious germs/ viruses being on your shoes from this needle splatter onto the carpet? I have no idea how often the carpet in this area is cleaned. 

Maybe this concern I have for potential "what ifs" is just me worrying too much? I clean my car baseboards once a week, but I do walk into my home in my work shoes... 

Video: https://youtu.be/J7p3LQoCLac

And to note... I have chosen before to engage safety after the injection is completed for these types of needles because I felt it was the safest method for me. I was concerned at the syringe stability in my hand engaging the safety while the needle was still in the patient's arm, just because the safety mechanism is so close to the base of the needle. It just felt like an awkward way to go about it. 

If you feel I could improve, I invite your constructive criticism, but please don't be mean. I am always trying to do better. I am not sure if I am worrying unnecessarily, or if this concern is valid. 

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I think worrying unnecessarily.

Side note regarding the safety needles: I choose not to engage these at the end of the injection (while needle still in injection site) because the ones available to me make quite a "thunk" which is disconcerting to patients and the last thing I want (especially with covid vaccines and high tension/anxiety) is any minimal reason for the patient to feel unsettled or that something unexpected happened or any more discomfort than absolutely necessary. I engage safety immediately as I am withdrawing. I don't care about some microscopic splatter; frankly I haven't even thought of it until reading your post. You can't be worrying about what's on the carpet; reality is that it is everything on your shoes, patients' shoes and belongings and more...it's a floor. ?

This is friendly (hopefully not perceived as mean, as it is not meant to be at all) -- I think it's a little weird to worry about micro-splatter if you're going to wear your work shoes around in your house. ?  I'd favor having a spot to leave your work shoes either in a garage/porch or on a mat just inside the door.

Everything's okay. Use basic hygiene measures and standard precautions and try to work on letting the rest go. ??

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7 hours ago, trying2stayafloat said:

Would you be concerned about potentially infectious germs/ viruses being on your shoes from this needle splatter onto the carpet?

No, just don't lick them. ?

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5 hours ago, JKL33 said:

I think worrying unnecessarily.

Side note regarding the safety needles: I choose not to engage these at the end of the injection (while needle still in injection site) because the ones available to me make quite a "thunk" which is disconcerting to patients and the last thing I want (especially with covid vaccines and high tension/anxiety) is any minimal reason for the patient to feel unsettled or that something unexpected happened or any more discomfort than absolutely necessary. I engage safety immediately as I am withdrawing. I don't care about some microscopic splatter; frankly I haven't even thought of it until reading your post. You can't be worrying about what's on the carpet; reality is that it is everything on your shoes, patients' shoes and belongings and more...it's a floor. ?

This is friendly (hopefully not perceived as mean, as it is not meant to be at all) -- I think it's a little weird to worry about micro-splatter if you're going to wear your work shoes around in your house. ?  I'd favor having a spot to leave your work shoes either in a garage/porch or on a mat just inside the door.

Everything's okay. Use basic hygiene measures and standard precautions and try to work on letting the rest go. ??

Not mean, that makes sense. I struggle to find balance. This is an attempt to push my comfort zone in terms of my OCD but still be reasonable. I don’t have a mud room/ garage but I probably could leave them on the porch 

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