What should you do after a needle stick injury?
Emergency Sharps Information
- Wash needlesticks and cuts with soap and water.
- Flush splashes to the nose, mouth, or skin with water.
- Irrigate eyes with clean water, saline, or sterile irrigants.
- Report the incident to your supervisor.
- Immediately seek medical treatment.
What can needlestick injuries cause?
These injuries can cause the transmission of infectious diseases, such as hepatitis C and B, HIV, brucellosis, skin gonorrhea, herpes, malaria and syphilis [2,3]. The transmission rate of infection per injury is between 6-30% for hepatitis B, 3% for hepatitis C and 0.3% for HIV [4].
Do needle sticks bleed?
Generally, needlestick injuries cause only minor visible trauma or bleeding; however, even in the absence of bleeding the risk of viral infection remains.
Do needlestick injuries always bleed?
What should I do after a needlestick injury?
Encourage bleeding by washing with soap and running water;
What does needlestick injuries mean?
Needlestick injury: A penetrating stab wound from a needle (or other sharp object) that may result in exposure to blood or other body fluids. The main concern is exposure to the blood or other body fluids of another person who may be carrying infectious disease.
What should I do if I get a needlestick?
If you experienced a needlestick or sharps injury or were exposed to the blood or other body fluid of a patient during the course of your work, immediately follow these steps: Wash needlesticks and cuts with soap and water. Flush splashes to the nose, mouth, or skin with water.
How to reduce needlestick and sharps injuries?
Avoiding the use of needles where safe and effective alternatives are available
