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Improper procedure or just paranoid?
I know I have previously posted on this site and that I have OCD about HIV...but I had a recent experience that I was curious to know if any nurses or phlebotomists can comment on...
I had a rapid HIV (Oraquick advance) test performed at a NYS dept. of health STD clinic. Anyway, the phlebotomist seemed to have a bad attitude altogther and was not very friendly. Before she pricked my finger, I looked at the tray table where she had the materials needed to perform the test. I saw a little box with disposable lancets that looked grey with a purple button and purple base (where the needle comes out). These lancets were clearly unused as they still had the purple "stopper" on them, that needs to be pulled out before you can use them. Well, this phlebotomist did not grab a "new" lancet from that box...instead she took one that was laying on the tray table, and that already had the stopper removed...so this kinda freaked me out, and now I'm starting to wonder why she would even have the lancet ready and open before I got there. The clinic was pretty dead, as I had arrived there almost by closing time, so it seems odd that she would have one ready since the place was not busy.
I guess my questions are..
Isn't it proper procedure to open a lancet in front of the patient?
If this was a "safety" lancet (which I assume it was)...she wouldn't be able to prick my finger with it because it would have been disabled from the last person, right?
Isn't it strange for her to just open a new lancet and set it down, if there was nobody in the clinic?
I saw her dispose of it in a sharps container once she pricked my finger, but I'm still freaked out by why she would have an open lancet sitting on her tray before I got there...and my brain is making me believe it was a used lancet.
Am I just overthinking it?
I had a rapid HIV (Oraquick advance) test performed at a NYS dept. of health STD clinic. Anyway, the phlebotomist seemed to have a bad attitude altogther and was not very friendly. Before she pricked my finger, I looked at the tray table where she had the materials needed to perform the test. I saw a little box with disposable lancets that looked grey with a purple button and purple base (where the needle comes out). These lancets were clearly unused as they still had the purple "stopper" on them, that needs to be pulled out before you can use them. Well, this phlebotomist did not grab a "new" lancet from that box...instead she took one that was laying on the tray table, and that already had the stopper removed...so this kinda freaked me out, and now I'm starting to wonder why she would even have the lancet ready and open before I got there. The clinic was pretty dead, as I had arrived there almost by closing time, so it seems odd that she would have one ready since the place was not busy.
I guess my questions are..
Isn't it proper procedure to open a lancet in front of the patient?
If this was a "safety" lancet (which I assume it was)...she wouldn't be able to prick my finger with it because it would have been disabled from the last person, right?
Isn't it strange for her to just open a new lancet and set it down, if there was nobody in the clinic?
I saw her dispose of it in a sharps container once she pricked my finger, but I'm still freaked out by why she would have an open lancet sitting on her tray before I got there...and my brain is making me believe it was a used lancet.
Am I just overthinking it?
Thanks Lizzie and Nursegirl, I know I need to seek help for my OCD and will do so...
that I have OCD about HIV
That's your concern, not HIV. You need to seek help for your OCD, or you'll always have a new "what if" question.
That's your concern, not HIV. You need to seek help for your OCD, or you'll always have a new "what if" question.
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