Hepatitis C & HIV - No gloves worn during injection

[sarahtx]

Hello,

I went to my doctor's office today to get a routine tetanus shot.  I wasn't thinking  at all --- and then realized that the medical assistant who gave me my injection was not wearing gloves.  

She had the bandage that she was going to put on my shot site already opened and half on hanging off one of her hands (her hands didn't look clean and had some scrapes on them.  There could have been open cuts).  

My concern is the follwing:

1. Because she didn't wear gloves, if she was infected with HIV or Hep C, is there a chance that I might have contracted it from her.  

2. What if the bandaid had her blood on it before she put it on me?  Am I at risk?  

Just wondering if there should be a cause for

I think the needle and the syringe were clean, but I'm not pleased with this medical assistant's practices.  

Just wondering if there should be a cause for concern here.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Sarah

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

Hello Sarah,

When blood is expressed from the wound in the context of the circumstances that you describe, there is very little to no reason for concern.

- Dr. Parks

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

[sarahtx]

Dear Dr. Parks,

Sorry, what I meant to say is that the medical assistant had some open cuts/scrapes on her hands and I had an open cut that was bleeding (from the vaccine).

Thanks again!
Sarah

[sarahtx]

Dear Dr. Parks,

Thanks for your response.  I have a follow up question to your post.  My skin was not intact, which is why I'm a little concerned.  

After the shot was administered,  there was some bleeding, and as I mentioned, the medical assistant had scraps and cuts on them.  

Given this, should there be any cause for a bloodborne pathogen?

Thanks again for your help and expertise.

Best regards,
Sarah

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

Dear Sarah:

There is no chance to acquire HIV or Hepatitis C with skin-to-skin contact between two individuals with intact skin (no open cuts, scrapes, etc). In general, bodily fluid must be exchanged for there to be a significant risk of HIV or Hepatitis C transmission.

In general, purpose of health care workers wearing gloves is to protect them from bodily fluids (as the posting above describes). The gloves should be thrown away after each patient encounter.

Lastly, I 100% agree with patients politely asking health care workers to wash their hands prior to any type of encounter.

- Dr. Parks

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

[caregiver222]

Decades ago, when I first worked in a hospital nobody wore gloves. The gloves are used more to protect the health care worker than the patient. In the United States, hypodermic needles are pre-sterilized, used "one-time-only" and, as long as there is no contact with the human finger or human blood there is zero chance of contracting Hep C or HIV.  I certainly believe the health care worker's hands should have been washed, but in fairness, there is a school of thought that wearing gloves is disturbing to a patient. Bear in mind that once gloves are put on, if the surface of the glove touches a contaminated surface for an instant, and then the glove touches the needle, there is the same danger posed to the patient as if the health care worker were to be ungloved.  The fact she had the band-aid opened suggests she was conscientious, and wanted to seal the area as soon as possible.  I would not be concerned. The comment "her hands did not look clean" concerns me, but I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt in this respect. A patient is never out of line to politely request medical assiant or physician to wash their hands before a procedure.