Employee safety: If you prick yourself with a needle what will you do, what steps will you follow? What will the employee of health department do?

If you prick yourself with a needle what will you do, what steps will you follow? What will the employee of health department do?
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Needle prick injury
Needle prick injury is common within health facilities. If you experience a needle prick injury, there are safety precautions to be followed. Generally, one washes the site with water. Milking or squeezing the site is beneficial. Victims are then expected to seek medical attention for post exposure management (Wangner, 2008). This paper seeks to detail the steps I will follow if I prick myself with a needle and what the employee health department will do.
If I prick myself with a needle, I would wash the site gently with running water and soap immediately. I would then smear an antiseptic and finally a clean dressing. I would dispose the needle safely, and obtain quick medical attention from the health department within 24 hours. The employee in the health department will carry on from this point (Mace & Rabins, 2011).
Needle prick injury has numerous post occupational exposures. The employee in the health department would therefore carry out a series of tests in order to eliminate infection possibilities. They would test hepatitis C and B and HIV, in case of doubts concerning the potential infections. The tests should be done immediately and after six months. The health department employee would then begin to consider a regimen of post exposure prophylaxis immediately after the needle prick injury (Wangner, 2008).
Post exposure prophylaxis for HIV would then be carried out. This is often done by taking lamivudine (3TC) or zidovune (AZT) within two hours after the prick. This possibly reduces contraction of HIV by about 80 per cent. In case the victim of needle injury is not vaccinated for hepatitis B, then the health department would give hepatitis B Immune Globulin injection which offers immunity. This reduces contraction by 75 per cent. Vaccination is recommended afterwards (Mace & Rabins, 2011).
In conclusion, when pricked by a needle, one needs to wash the site with soap and running water immediately, apply an antiseptic, clean dressing, and then seek medical atten...