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Discussion

needle sticks

Hi everyoneLast night I was giving insulin and as I went to push the safety up somehow I poked my finger..immedaitly started panicking. Washed my hands used alcohol on the affected area. Told the supervisor filled out paperwork..was told not to worry the resident is clear of any blood bourne illness (I work in a long term care facility)...needless to say I'm still panicking. The resident consented to a blood draw but my supervisor says its just for my reassurance they already know his complete history...still panicking

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    • Featured Replies

    welcome to the club! most of us somewhere along our careers have had some sort of stick. You're lucky in that your patient was LTC and known not to have any diseases and consented to having a blood draw. When i got my stick, the lady was all swweet about it until they came to draw her blood then she refused - talk about freaking me out. :eek: ps - i was totally fine.

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    • Experts

    We can't give medical advice here per the TOS. You need to discuss any specific concerns regarding the stick with your employee occupational health department and/or primary care provider. If you haven't seen either of these people, do so ASAP for your own safety as well as for your peace of mind.

    If it's any consolation, the rate of transmission of infectious diseases via needlestick is very low. Of course, that means nothing when you're on the wrong end of the needle, so I completely understand that you are terrified and don't blame you one bit for feeling that way. It's not a fun club that you've just joined.

    Talk to your PCP. They can give you the best and most accurate information.

    Best of luck.

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    • Experts

    Gosh - what an upsetting experience. Your supervisor is wrong though. Per OSHA guidelines, you are to be offered the chance to get labs drawn from the source pt as well as yourself. You are also entitled to an evaluation by a provider as to your own individual risk factors. Please discuss this with your supervisor once again. Here is the pertinent OSHA guideline:

    http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Bloo...s/bbfact04.pdf

    This is how a needlestick, any needlestick should be handled.

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    I thought this thread was locked?

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    • Columnist
    I thought this thread was locked?

    It was closed for a brief staff discussion, but it is now opened to posting.

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    OP, When I saw your post I had to check and see if I wrote it! Did the EXACT same thing (same scenario to a T) about 2-3 years ago. I was terrified...the resident agreed to blood draw...and I also had the f/u blood work done x 6 months on myself because I was paranoid. Sounds like you will be totally fine. Needlesticks are scary...but an occupational hazard for us I guess.

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    Hi everyoneLast night I was giving insulin and as I went to push the safety up somehow I poked my finger.

    The only type of saftey mechanism I've ever thought were worth a snot were the automatic ones - like the kind you see on insulin pens.

    Just about any "barrel" type saftey devices that you have to manually slide are worthless. If you run into something they slide right back over the needle anyway. I just put the dang thing in the sharps without messing with it further.

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    It's always scary to get stuck. I've been around needles for a few years and have yet to be stuck like that. I'm sure I'll get my turn eventually. Not looking forward to that...

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    I got stuck a couple times and Tbh, it didnt bother me at all. Maybe thats because I'm becoming ....

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    I was stuck while giving insulin too. It was a six-year old so I wasn't too worried about blood-borne illnesses but I still went through the necessary paperwork.

    Just continue with your check ups and try not to worry. (Easier said than done, I know.) As others have stated it is a low probability that you will contract anything.

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    The 1st time is the worst. After that when you end up fine you worry a lot less.

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