Needlestick OCD

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I have suffered OCD on and off since i was around 10. It seems to manifest itself through different mediums some of which being sleep/germs/safety of loved ones. I have always been able to keep a lid on it and try not to let it get on top of me. I work in a healthcare setting and recently an intrusive though of catching a blood borne infection through a needle stick injury has been stuck on my mind. I regularly take bloods as part of my occupation and this thought has been stuck on my mind for a few months now, even to the point of checking my gloves after seeing a patient. My worry is when I carry out venipuncture on a patient i can sometimes do it in autopilot. Only after will i freak out that i could have stuck myself with the needle and not realised. I carry out the checks (fill glove with water to look for puncture marks) which seems to ease my mind but the doubts always seem to come back even after the checks. Is this typical OCD behaviour? Its even got to the point where i am looking for clinics to get tested. I love my job but this problem is sapping the enjoyment out of it for me.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Sounds like something you need to discuss with your mental health care provider.

You would also likely benefit from education on the risk of blood borne pathogen transmission. The fact is, it is rare for a disease to be transmitted via needlestick injury. From the CDC:

What is the risk of infection after an occupational exposure?Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)

Health care workers who have received hepatitis B vaccine and have developed immunity to the virus are at virtually no risk for infection. For an unvaccinated person, the risk from a single needlestick or a cut exposure to HBV-infected blood ranges from 6%–30% and depends on the hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) status of the source individual. Individuals who are both hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive and HBeAg positive have more virus in their blood and are more likely to transmit HBV.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

Based on limited studies, the estimated risk for infection after a needlestick or cut exposure to HCV-infected blood is approximately 1.8%. The risk following a blood splash is unknown but is believed to be very small; however, HCV infection from such an exposure has been reported.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

  • The average risk for HIV infection after a needlestick or cut exposure to HlV-infected blood is 0.3% (about 1 in 300). Stated another way, 99.7% of needlestick/cut exposures to HIV-contaminated blood do not lead to infection.
  • The risk after exposure of the eye, nose, or mouth to HIV-infected blood is estimated to be, on average, 0.1% (1 in 1,000).
  • The risk after exposure of the skin to HlV-infected blood is estimated to be less than 0.1%. A small amount of blood on intact skin probably poses no risk at all. There have been no documented cases of HIV transmission due to an exposure involving a small amount of blood on intact skin (a few drops of blood on skin for a short period of time). The risk may be higher if the skin is damaged (for example, by a recent cut), if the contact involves a large area of skin, or if the contact is prolonged.

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We can not give you medical advice here.

You might find this information useful, I think the webpage of the organization also has a tool to find professionals who can help with CBT

https://iocdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/What-You-Need-To-Know-About-OCD.pdf

International OCD Foundation – How Do I Find Help for OCD?

I can tell you that one of my children as OCD and the "worries" are comparable to yours in many ways.

The thing to know is that logic often does not address the problem because logically you may know that you can not get just infected. Constant re-assurance often leads to false positive re-inforcement with even more "checking" and such. My child can have months with less OCD but in times of high stress or illness the OCD also gets worse.

I really recommend you check with a MH specialist to talk about your problem, get a diagnosis, and look into treatment options.

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Have you actually been diagnosed with OCD?

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
when I carry out venipuncture on a patient i can sometimes do it in autopilot.
Such behavior *does* put you at some elevated risk, as well as your patients.

I can't comment about the OCD stuff but invasive procedures and sharps-out should *never* be done on autopilot.

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