needle stick

[jun85]

hi im having a bit of anxiety bout a situation sorry if its a long read but advice would be very much appreciated. im a tattoo artist an juss had a situation with pricking myself on the tip of my thumb with a needle ( which was actually 5 fine needles grouped together for a larger line ) i stopped tattooing after removed my gloves an applied pressure to see if it broke skin indeed i had a small small amount of blood so i applied more pressure an pushed out a bit more blood then cleaned the area with alcohol. after changed out all my utensils an replaced everything new. i asked my client if i  had anything to worry about wich course they replied with no that i had nothing to worry about an that they where checked for diabetes in the last three month . but course i still have anxiety bout how high my risks are of any infection. specially reading so many different opinions on the net some say no real risk some say theres a high risk. im juss tryng too not freak out if i could get some real advice for my situation i think it would put me in a better state of mind. thank you

[jun85]

U too an thank u for the info.

[hrsepwrguy]

I didn't know I had HCV for 25 yrs, testing for HCV is not really routine and diabetes testing has nothing to do with HCV testing, If you don't know this person (as a friend) I don't think I would take his word for it, your risk is really really low but it can never hurt to get tested.

Have a great day

[jun85]

Matricide  an everything is sterilized. No he said he got checked for diabetes recently.

[dontworry_behappy1]

Welcome to the forum.   What do you use to clean your tattoo equipment/tools with?

[Idyllic]

The client said they do not have Hepatitis C - only diabetes.
The thing is if you are a tattoo artist you should get vaccinated for Hepatitis B if you have not done so and you may as well get tested for HCV. You are in what is considered a high risk profession.
http://www.hbvadvocate.org/hepatitis/easyBfacts/Tattoos.pdf
http://www.hepatitiscentral.com/hcv/hepatitis/tattoos/

[hrsepwrguy]

A needle stick with a hollow bore needle from a known HCV infected patient carries only a 1.8% chance of transmission, however there is still a slight risk, if your worried wait the proper amount of time and get tested.
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What is the risk for HCV infection from a needlestick exposure to HCV-contaminated blood?

After a needlestick or sharps exposure to HCV-positive blood, the risk of HCV infection is approximately 1.8%

How soon after exposure to HCV can anti-HCV be detected?

HCV infection can be detected by anti-HCV screening tests (enzyme immunoassay) 4–10 weeks after infection. Anti-HCV can be detected in >97% of persons by 6 months after exposure.

How soon after exposure to HCV can HCV RNA be detected by PCR?

HCV RNA appears in blood and can be detected as early as 2–3 weeks after infection.

http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HCV/HCVfaq.htm#c5