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Discussion

Rules on recapping needles

Hi there, silly question but I am a nursing student and we are obviously always told never to recap needles, however, in our practice labs I was withdrawing medication from a rubber vial, once the needle is pulled out of this vial while still attached to the syringe, how are we supposed to discard this needle and attach a new sterile one without recapping?? The teacher stated to just twist off the needle that still attached to the syringe with our other hand, but surely that's a needle stick risk as well as the potential to contaminate the tip of the syringe..

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    • Featured Replies

    I find the twisting off the needle w/the cap on very easy. I have not gotten stuck doing this.

    If you do stick  yourself, it's a clean needle. Make sure you wash the cut/site and bandage. Then replace the needle.

    It takes practice but worth trying.

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    We were also taught to "never recap" yet we were taught to lay the cap on a surface with a lip or against a wall to "stop" the cap from moving and to gently recap. We were also never taught to use blunt tips which I actually use every day at work, recap all the time and it would hurt like the dickens if I actually stuck myself with those things.  

    The truth is - do what you gotta do to get through nursing school.  You will learn real life when you get there.

    I actually only have to recap a sharp needle when I draw up insulin or heparin.  I place my cap flat side up (because they have flat caps) and stick my needle down into them once I have the med drawn up.  These are the only 2 instances when I have to uncap a needle I actually put into a person.

    If doing IM injections - there is never a reason to recap after the injection. The safety should be engaged or the needle should go immediately into a sharps container.

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    I was taught to never recap used needles--meaning, recapping after drawing up a medication was fine, just not after the medication has been administered. My understanding is that it is to prevent used needles from accidentally being used more than once. 

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    No, it was to prevent accidental needlesticks. The guideline was instituted at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.

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    • Experts
    14 hours ago, YouCanCallMeFrank said:

    My understanding is that it is to prevent used needles from accidentally being used more than once. 

    The point of not recapping is so the nurse doesn’t get a needle stick from a needle that has made contact c a patient’s blood or body fluids. If the only place it’s been is inside a sterile vial, the nurse is at no risk for contact c infectious agents. Annoying, but not dangerous. Any needle (and attached syringe) used on a patient has a no-touch needle guard and/or goes straight into the sharps box so nobody else ever touches it.

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