Right profession?

[RNbelth]

Well I am a new nurse and never had a fear of needles or giving injections I shall say. But lately I am scared to death, mostly because I am 3 months pregnant and deal with 13 insulin injections daily through my shift. Well I double glove with vinyl gloves and 2 days ago I was on my break and noticed my finger was red so I squeezed it and blood came out. There was also a flap of skin covering the "scrape" and before break I was dealing with a lot of orders and charts. I showed it to my boss and she said its probably a paper cut because I would know if I was poked. I am so careful that I think I would have noticed myself scratching myself with a needle since it was a small linear abrasion. Need your guys input. I keep worrying but am I for nothing, what do you think? Needle stick or papercut? I do deal with med cards you know the nasty little boogers you have to pop out the pills And has atone known of anyone getting hep c or HIV from an insulin needle. The ones I use are 29 guage. I appreciate all nurses on this site and not. I don't think people realize what we go through on a daily basis.Thanks all. Belth

[TX.RN.Shannon]

Just my humble opinion...but I think you're freaking out more due to being pregnant. BTW, congrats! :-)

But I think you would've noticed if you had 'stuck' yourself with a needle. Sounds like your hands are in rough shape, and the dryness or irritation made them bleed.

One of the best defenses is intact, healthy skin. Make sure to moisturize well, especially before bed. Get some good hand cream--Burt's Bees makes some awesome hand cream--and slather it on. It's hard to use lotion at work when you have to wash so often and wear gloves, but try to keep some lotion on hand (no pun intended!) to use. Try not to pick at any inflammed or rough areas. Treat yourself to a manicure to keep your hands soft and cuticles healthy---you deserve it!!!

I don't really think double-gloving will really help. Just try to be cautious when chances of exposure are there.

You can drive yoyrself nuts with all the 'what-ifs' and 'oh my gosh' moments in both nursing and pregnancy. But try to take a deep breath and use those Universal Precautions. More than likely, no worries!!! :-)