Table of Contents
- 1 What are needlestick precautions?
- 2 What is the needlestick Safety and Prevention Act what does it do?
- 3 What diseases can you get from a needlestick?
- 4 How long does a virus live on a needle?
- 5 Can you get an STD from a needlestick?
- 6 What is needlestick benefit?
- 7 What should I do if I get a needlestick?
- 8 How to reduce needlestick and sharps injuries?
What are needlestick precautions?
Workers Please Note 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 is the needlestick Safety and Prevention Act what does it do?
Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act – Revises the bloodborne pathogens standard, in effect under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to include safer medical devices, such as sharps with engineered sharps injury protections and needleless systems, as examples of engineering controls designed to …
What does needlestick mean?
Needlestick injuries are wounds caused by needles that accidentally puncture the skin. Needlestick injuries are a hazard for people who work with hypodermic syringes and other needle equipment.
What is needlestick coverage?
Needlestick cover often pays a lump sum benefit if you become infected with HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C as a result or an accident occurring during the course of your work.
What diseases can you get from a needlestick?
Blood-borne diseases that could be transmitted by a needlestick injury include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV). Thoroughly wash the wound with soap and water, and go to your doctor or nearest emergency department as soon as possible.
How long does a virus live on a needle?
The risk of acquiring HBV from an occupational needle stick injury when the source is hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive ranges from 2% to 40%, depending on the source’s level of viremia (2). HBV can survive for up to one week under optimal conditions, and has been detected in discarded needles (6,18).
What does it mean to use universal precautions?
Universal precautions are a standard set of guidelines to prevent the transmission of bloodborne pathogens from exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM).
Are safety needles mandatory?
The nation’s first law mandating the use of safety needles went into effect July 1 in California. The law requires that healthcare institutions provide workers with needles designed with “engineered controls” to aid in protecting them from accidental needlesticks. Other states have passed needlestick legislation.
Can you get an STD from a needlestick?
With needle stick injuries, the most common concern is around blood born STIs and STDs which include HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and less frequently syphilis.
What is needlestick benefit?
BT Protection Plans offers a Needlestick benefit. If your client suffers a workplace accident in which they suffer a needlestick injury, or are exposed to a blood splash or even bone dust, and as a result are diagnosed with HIV, Hepatitis B or C, they may be eligible to receive the Needlestick benefit.
What tests are done after a needlestick?
Laboratory studies in exposed individuals/health care worker include the following: Hepatitis B surface antibody. HIV testing at time of incident and again at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Hepatitis C antibody at time of incident and again at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks.
What to do if you are pricked by a used needle?
If you prick yourself with a used needle, hold the affected limb down low to get it to bleed. Do not squeeze the wound or soak it in bleach. Wash the area with warm water and soap.
What should I do if I get a needlestick?
After any needlestick injury, an affected healthcare worker should wash the area with soap and water immediately. There is no contraindication to using antiseptic solutions, but there is also no evidence to suggest that this reduces the rates of disease transmission.
How to reduce needlestick and sharps injuries?
Work-practice controls: Take steps to reduce sharps and needlestick injuries by using instruments to hold needles or scalpels, refrain from passing sharps by hand, and do not carry sharps in garbage or linen bags held close to the body. Personal protective equipment: Using PPE should always be the last control approach taken.
What is the Needlestick Safety?
The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act to revise the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) standard regulating occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens, including the human immunodeficiency virus, the hepatitis B virus, and the hepatitis C virus, was signed into law on November 6, 2000. OSHA published in the Federal Register its regulations reflecting the Act and its requirments.