Didn't Wear PPE - Should I worry ?

RXMedic579

RXMedic579

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Last week when on a controlled bleeding call ( very small cut on elbow and minimal bleeding ) I used alcohol prep pads to clean up the semi dried up blood around the wound without wearing my gloves. I usually don't wear gloves unless I know the patient has a infectious disease or if there is a moderate to large amount of blood or other bodily fluid. With that said, I don't recall seeing any blood on me after cleaning the wound other than touching the alcohol pads, but I remembered I had scraped the top of my hand a couple days before. I'm somewhat worried wondering " what if they had Hepatitis C ". After patient care I immediately washed my hands using PAWS antiseptic hand wipes ( what we carry ) which is proven 99.9% effective against HIV, MRSA and a few other things. I also used a alcohol based hand sanitizer since a sink with soap and water were not readily available. My cuts were pretty much healed at the time, they weren't actively bleeding or anything but I did feel a small sting when using the hand sanitizer. Now you probably think I'm over reacting, but would you consider this a true exposure or would you just forget about it ? I know some of you will probably say I should know the answer to this as this stuff was taught in EMT school, but I second guess myself and would prefer a second opinion.

Is there any real potential of catching Hep C based on my story ?

Thanks in advance !
 
RXMedic579 said:
Last week when on a controlled bleeding call ( very small cut on elbow and minimal bleeding ) I used alcohol prep pads to clean up the semi dried up blood around the wound without wearing my gloves. I usually don't wear gloves unless I know the patient has a infectious disease or if there is a moderate to large amount of blood or other bodily fluid. With that said, I don't recall seeing any blood on me after cleaning the wound other than touching the alcohol pads, but I remembered I had scraped the top of my hand a couple days before. I'm somewhat worried wondering " what if they had Hepatitis C ". After patient care I immediately washed my hands using PAWS antiseptic hand wipes ( what we carry ) which is proven 99.9% effective against HIV, MRSA and a few other things. I also used a alcohol based hand sanitizer since a sink with soap and water were not readily available. My cuts were pretty much healed at the time, they weren't actively bleeding or anything but I did feel a small sting when using the hand sanitizer. Now you probably think I'm over reacting, but would you consider this a true exposure or would you just forget about it ? I know some of you will probably say I should know the answer to this as this stuff was taught in EMT school, but I second guess myself and would prefer a second opinion.

Is there any real potential of catching Hep C based on my story ?

Thanks in advance !
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Why weren't you using the proper PPE? If you are the least bit concerned, talk to your company's designated infection control officer and ask him/her.
 
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You sure you want a second opinion? Odds are you will not care for the responses.

Should you worry, yes.

In addition to exposing yourself to potentially infectious body fluids, you failed to set your personal protection as the highest priority. This in itself speaks volumes to dedication and commitment to an appropriate culture of safety and promotion of professionalism. Not to mention you violated OSHA's BBP standard and can be held individually accountable for your negligent actions. You also placed your agency at risk for potential regulatory involvement and inquiry if the exposure does turn out infectious.

If you can't take the most basic premise, the one etched into your mind permanantly from EMT class and beyond, then one has to question your ability to avoid complacency in other job specific duties.

As a manager, if this conversation was to occur with you as one of my employees, it would be concluding with a hand shake and a termination notice. Your actions based on your post are inexcusable.
 
oh no you didn't!

I remember during clinicals, one of the medics I rode with told me that if I EVER forgot to don the appropriate PPE before getting out of the truck when I was riding with him, he would drop me off at the next post or hospital and let me find my own way home.

No second chance with him when it came to safety.

kinda like real life, where there may be no second chance if you were to contract something from a patient because you were not wearing your PPE.

I'm not trying to be harsh or anything, but you should know better.

Peace.

ArkansasEMT
 
I'm usually the last person to put gloves on and the first to take them off.

With that said, wear your PPE!

You're probably fine but you need to report it to your company's OSHA/Infection control Officer and fill out an exposure report.

How can you "know" if someone has something infectious or not? Basing it on what they tell you? Ever watched House? "Everyone lies" isn't limited to that TV show. You'd be surprised how many people don't know they have HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis or they're embarrassed about it and won't tell you or they're a :censored::censored::censored::censored:head and don't care and won't tell you. What if they're altered? Gonna take their word for it?

Are you seeing my point? Is it worth putting yourself, your family and your friends at that risk? You're gonna be the sick one but they're going to have to deal with it and cope with it.
 
I have forgot my PPE during codes before. It should not happen but it does. There is little you can do about it now except learn from it and do not let it happen again.
 
I've had the phrase "all the gear all the time" drilled into my head. No matter what the c/c is I always wear gloves... but then again I'm also a germaphobe. If I were you yes I would be worried because you don't know what creepy crawlies the pt has.
 
RXMedic579 said:
I usually don't wear gloves unless I know the patient has a infectious disease or if there is a moderate to large amount of blood or other bodily fluid.
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And how exactly do you know if a person has an infectious disease or not? What if the patient has something they don't know about yet? What if the patient simply lies to you?

I'll admit to not wearing gloves all the time, but I never go anywhere near bodily fluids of any kind without PPE.
 
Yes he does have aids, gloves being the best ones!

And you thought you were being humorous...........
 
Apparently a lot of people werent paying attention in their BBP/RTK updates

Pop Quiz: What is the most effective barrier to bloodborne pathogens
 
Bullets said:
Apparently a lot of people werent paying attention in their BBP/RTK updates

Pop Quiz: What is the most effective barrier to bloodborne pathogens
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Having someone else touch the thing that is wet, sticky, and not yours?
 
Flight-LP said:
Yes he does have aids, gloves being the best ones!

And you thought you were being humorous...........
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Now see, if it was me that posted that, I'd at least have posted the Family Guy "You've got AIDs" song.
 
JPINFV said:
Having someone else touch the thing that is wet, sticky, and not yours?
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Negatory, the correct answer is....Unbroken Skin

So if your skin is healthy, you got nothing to worry about. As a bunch of medical people, sometimes we forget that the human body has this under control as long as we let it do its thing. It when we start messing around is when we get messed up
 
Bullets said:
Negatory, the correct answer is....Unbroken Skin

So if your skin is healthy, you got nothing to worry about. As a bunch of medical people, sometimes we forget that the human body has this under control as long as we let it do its thing. It when we start messing around is when we get messed up
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I have yet to catch something that my partner touched that I haven't.
 
Oh, and to the OP...

manabi-why-would-you-do-that.jpg



I've also just had a run of couplets.
 
Bullets said:
Apparently a lot of people werent paying attention in their BBP/RTK updates

Pop Quiz: What is the most effective barrier to bloodborne pathogens
Click to expand...




Bullets said:
Negatory, the correct answer is....Unbroken Skin

So if your skin is healthy, you got nothing to worry about. As a bunch of medical people, sometimes we forget that the human body has this under control as long as we let it do its thing. It when we start messing around is when we get messed up
Click to expand...
It is actually hand washing.
Just because your skin isn't broken, doesn't mean things can't get inside you. (Giggity)
Under your nails for example
 
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Achilles said:
It is actually hand washing.
Just because your skin isn't broken, doesn't mean things can't get inside you. (Giggity)
Under your nails for example
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Handwashing is the way to prevent spreading the BBP, but unbroken skin is the most effective barrier. The human body knows what its doing, we just screw it up by putting our hands in our mouth
 
Bullets said:
Handwashing is the way to prevent spreading the BBP, but unbroken skin is the most effective barrier. The human body knows what its doing, we just screw it up by putting our hands in our mouth
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Or other places...
 
DesertEMT66 said:
Or other places...
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Trying to keep it PG here....

But seriously, wash your hands and take care of your skin, regular moisturizer will prevent cracks. Especially if you plan on inserting fingers in orifices, whomever they may belong to
 
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