What it means
A sharps injury that can expose a health care worker to blood-borne germs such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Most happen while recapping needles, during disposal, or when passing sharps. Safety-engineered needles, sharps containers and never recapping prevent most of them.
For the nurse
Wash the area with soap and water right away, report it to your supervisor and employee health at once, and follow up quickly, since medicine to prevent HIV works best when started within hours. Never recap a used needle by hand, and put sharps in the container right after use.
At a glance
| Also written | needlesticks, needle stick, needle sticks, needlestick injury |
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Related terms
hepatitis
Inflammation of the liver, most often caused by a virus.
standard precautions
The basic infection-control practices used with every client, whether or not an infection is known.