Sharps Injury - What To Do After Suffering A Sharps Injury
Working in or around the health care field there is a good chance that a sharps injury could occur during the course of the workday
. These types of injuries occur when a health care worker accidentally sticks themselves with a previously used syringe or needle. The injury usually happens during the administration of medication or because the syringe or needle was left exposed and not properly disposed. Should an injury of this nature happen while on the job it is a good idea to know what to do afterwards to ensure that the health and safety of the health care worker is kept intact.
The first thing to do after suffering a sharps injury is to not panic and go over departmental procedures for these types of injuries. Take a deep breath and consider talking to the health care department head. They will know what the proper procedures and rules are for handling these types of injuries. Most hospitals and health care centers have fairly similar procedures that are followed. These procedures include keeping a log of when the incident happened, who was involved and details of the incident at hand. These types of logs are kept to ensure the safety of both health care worker and the hospital.
The second procedure after suffering a sharps injury is to follow up with all medical care. There are many blood borne pathogens that can be transferred from an accidental syringe or needle prick. Since there is no way to tell if the needle that struck a person is contaminated, it is recommended that the health care worker start on a series of antibiotics and medical treatments. Many of these medical treatments can take six months to a year and can be a bit of a hassle to take part in. However, should a person be exposed to a blood borne pathogen these treatments could save their life.
Suffering from a sharps injury while at the workplace can be a bit of a scary experience. The unknown factor of whether you have contracted a blood borne pathogen illness or disease can cause a lot of stress to the health care worker who suffered the injury. However, making sure that all rules and procedures set forth for when an injury of this nature is experienced will help ensure that the possibility of the health care worker contracting an illness or disease is greatly diminished by receiving swift medical treatment.