In theory; any sort of needle can become a problem; in so much as it is so easy to prick a needle into your skin; even when simply holding it; let alone using it. You only have to look at what happened to Sleeping Beauty when she accidently pricked her thumb!
All Needles Have Sharp Points
A needle is accurately designed to pierce a surface to form a small diameter hole without exerting all that much force; when handling needles; if we accidentally push them against our skin; they will easily pierce it sufficiently deeply to draw blood. In theory, even a discarded sewing needle could have blood traces attached to its point and, these days; it is also theoretically possible for that blood to be contaminated by disease bearing organisms.
Hypodermic Needles
These are far more worrying when it comes to the possibility of contamination and disease risk. The needle on the end of a syringe; a catheter tube; or any other, similar medical device is deliberately used to make contact with blood and, in many cases; it is already known that the patient involved may well have disease in their system.
Needles need to be purchased and we are being constantly reminded to recycle things after we have finished using them. Ignoring needle use by drug addicts, using the same needle on more than one patient has never really been a common practice; but, what about sterilizing them after use and then using them again? Basically, the answer to that is in the “better safe than sorry” category; the hypodermic needle is a metal tube and the blood will be inside that tube – will a dose of hot steam guarantee its total removal? Possibly not; hence; current regulations Demand Safe Needle Disposal.
Who Is At Risk?
Everyone who comes into contact with a used hypodermic needle will be at risk and this includes the doctor or nurse who first used the needle on a patient. Safe Needle Disposal is not only about getting the used needles to a facility where they can be safely destroyed; it is also about protecting the user from the moment he withdraws it from the patient’s flesh. Used needles must be placed as quickly and safely as possible in some form of tamperproof sealed container – this is for everybody’s protection. Visit their website
