One and Only

Safe Injections

I went to get a vaccination today and as the woman came into the room with a needle, wrapped in cellophane and a vial in her other hand,  I asked her, will you be reusing a syringe or the vial?

“This?” she asked as she held up a small glass container that looked about the size of a thimble.  “There is only one dose in here”.  She told me that some medications have more than one dose but in this case,  it is a single dose and then will be thrown out.  She asked me why I was asking.

Disposable Needle and Syringe

 “I just attended a program on safe injection and learned about one needle and one syringe.”  I told her I was curious if she ever heard of that.  She hadn’t, but showed me the whole needle and syringe gets thrown out after it’s used. She displayed the packaging  that she just opened to retrieve a new, unused needle and syringe.   I was grateful for this real time discussion on safe injections.  I could now say I practice what I preach.

I asked if she knew of others who may reuse the syringe or is it pretty standard to use disposables.  She said she didn’t know what others do but was confident that in this doctor's practice only disposable needles and syringes are used.  I felt reassured and just before she walked out the door she said “not only is it unsafe, but to not throw them away is gross”. And she was gone.  I barely felt her giving me the shot.

To learn more about the Safe Injection Campaign, read about it here:  One and Only