Please help me...I am losing it !

[Nwo]

Hello

I went for a blood test yesterday...I wasnt paying attention so I didnt see the nurse get the syringe out of the plastic bag, and now I am freaked out at the possibility that the syringe she used had been used by mistake again on me. If she had really reused the syringe, what are my chances of infection ?

[kekelow]

Your just PARANIOD LIKE ALOT OF US ON THIS FORUM.YOU HAD NO RISKS THEY USE NEW NEEDLE WHEN THEY GIVE THE TEST AND THEY ARE VERY CAREFUL FOR THEMSELVES ALSO.PEACE.

[Nwo]

I know I am maybe paranoid but I cant really stop thinking about it. I mean everybody can make mistakes and maybe this nurse made this mistake with me.

Assuming the needle was reused, did I have a very high risk ?

[kekelow]

NWO, let me aksed you something, when the lady took your test, did she attaced the tubes to the syrings to fill the tubes with blood?Peace.

[Nwo]

yes....after she took my blood with the syringe, she inserted the syringe in the test tube to fill the blood...after that, she removed the syringe and with the needle from the test tube and disposed it in the sharps container

[kekelow]

Nwo, now think about it after she removed the last tube from the other person do you really think she would for get to throw the neddle away? from the last person i don't think so. This person takes people's blood all day and i'm sure she has developed a habit of throwing the neddles away when she finish drawing blood just like she did with you.And anyway those neddles are made for one time use only.Peace.

[Nwo]

I know that this is highly unlikely but I am afraid coz she might make the mistake. Everybody is prone to mistakes and I wasnt watching her get a new one out of the bag...How can you know that these needles cant be used more than once ?

[kekelow]

Nwo, i think you should go to aidsmeds.com the people over there no all about neddles and someone worrying about geting infected while taking a hiv test. And some of the post over here and there are just like yours.Peace.

[strata]

Your fears are unwarranted.

The chance that the nurse made THAT mistake, i.e., UNINTENTIOANLLY reused a needle, is about the same chance that you'll win the Powerball...without buying a ticket.

Accidentally reusing a needle would also be difficult because the platelets in the small-bore needle would likely clog it and prevent it from successfully drawing your blood.

To protect themselves phlebotomists and nurses are trained NOT to touch the needle after it has touched the patient. As you saw, when they finish, they stick the needle into the sharps/biohazard box and twist the blood tube holder to unscrew the needle.

For the nurse to have reused the needle, she would have had to INTENTIONALLY unscrew the needle by hand (something she NEVER does, in order to avoid needle sticks) and INTENTIONALLY reuse it on you.

I'll be honest: as far as INTENTIONALLY reusing needles goes, there has been ONE documented case in the US. A phlebotomist in San Francisco for some reason thought it'd be a good idea to reuse needles. She did claim she washed them with peroxide between uses. The phlebotomist was fired, banned from working in any other health care setting, and may have faced criminal charges.

The SF Deparment of Public Health did a study on this in 2000. They did follow-ups with EVERYONE who had had blood drawn at the clinic where the phlebotomist worked for 2-3 years and tested everyone (thousands of people) for HIV, HBV, HCV, etc. The study found the prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV to be extremely small, much lower than the prevalence in the general population, suggesting that the infections might not have been related to the phlebotomists actions. Not one case of infection was tied to her re-use of needles.

http://www.dph.sf.ca.us/Reports/ndlreuse.pdf
http://www.aegis.com/news/sc/1999/SC990402.html

[Nwo]

This would be true if the nurse used the vacutainer, then she needs to unscrew the needle in the sharps dispenser..but in the case of a syringe, she just caps the needle and gets rid of the syringe with the needle attached...I am sure that it does happen that a nurse unintentionally puts the capped and used needle on the table instead of the sharps container thus risking using it again on another patient. That is why I always pay attention to this....but this time I didnt...that is why I am so anxious now

[kekelow]

Nwo, you put this in your head  and now your beliving it. And you've went to far now and your probably going to keep obsessioing about it until you can take another test. If the nurse called you in a room don't you think see would get read of the neddle  when she was cleaning up everything before you got there.Your just thinking this, becaues you normally wacth the person take the neddle out of the bag it's just a classic case of OCD.Peace.

[Nwo]

..

[stupidcow]

Bro iam exactly in the same siatuation as yourself...i went for  a 1 year post exposure for closure can you believe it ...and now im back to square one i didnt see the nurse using a new syringe and im in the same boat...can you help me

[evenflow1121]

You guys are paranoid and you are letting your brain do a number on you.  Old needles get thrown out all the time, doesnt matter where you went to get tested.

[Teak]

Move on both of you. They don't reuse needles I've been getting blood tests every three months for 24 years and I know for a fact that they wouldn't reuse a needle or syringe. I don't know a testing center that doesn't use Vacutainer and butterflies to do testing.

[stupidcow]

Thank you guys for your reply..you have no idea how much this website has saved me from going crazy...god bless the all you contribute on this website and the doctors..i understand i try rationalizing it all the time but you know when something gets in your head anyways i thought i was the only one ..when i came to this website it gave me great assurance that no other ppl do freak out as hiv is no laughing matter  and im pregnant as well 5 months so its even harder ..teak please could you clarify what do you mean by vacutainer i believe it was that as this was a GUM clinic in the uk i saw her get the stuff out and open a new packet of tube but didnt see the syringe..thats where my panick comes from please please ellaborate on what is a vacutainer and butterfly and how that should ease my concern...soooooooooo much appreciated will be your reply

[stupidcow]

Please teak could you tell me more what did you mean by '' I don't know a testing center that doesn't use Vacutainer and butterflies to do testing'' what does that mean and how can that prevent what i am scared off please please tell me i beg you ..im very desperate:((( i had a year of hiv worry please i dont want to waste another year..at that time yes i put myself at risk but this will  be too much i dont wanna waste months worrying about a stupid ''what if'' :(((

[NeverDespair879]

Wow, go see a mental professional. You are in a wrong place.

[alienshadow]

get that ocd under control ALL of you people in the medical field dont practice using the same needles from one patient to the next UNDERSTAND and BELIEVE that