I pricked my finger....

[Cretia]

I feel like sleeping beauty, but I'll get sick and go to the hospital v.s. taking a nap. I can't believe I did this, and I just remembered to put up this warning. If you ever have to give your snake a shot, and you decide to put the lil orange plastic cap back on it before you throw it in the trash to be safe(most of us don't keep a red "biohazard" bag in our house), watch out cause the cap is permeable to the needles. Now, does it make sense to have a cap on a syringe that does not stop the needle from sliding through it? I didn't mash on it. If you've ever used one you know that it basically falls on, and then clicks at the bottom. It took nothing! And the needle slid through and poked my finger! I didn't think it would go through plastic so easily. I havn't had a tetna shot in 4 yrs, so if I come down with an awful illness I'll know why. Oh, and what are the first signs of sallmanella-sp ?

[LdyDrgn]

Cretia... you should break the needle off before throwing it away just so the syringe cannot be reused. Also, they aren't put into the Biohazards bags, but into a biohazard sharps box

[toker]

Well, the official stance from the med field is, Do Not EVER Recap

If your going to dispose of the needle and don't have a Biohazard box, bend it on a counter tip, floor, brick , what ever so that its bent over, then throw away.

Easy nuff It cant be reused and is unlikly to cause any damage once its all bent.

[toker]

doh! Beat me to it LD

[LdyDrgn]

Wow.. I'm two for two today, LMAO

[CheshireCat]

If you don't have a biohazard bin, buy something that comes in a tough, thick cardboard tube with a plastic pop on lid, similar to but wider than a pringles tube. Drop the bits in there (after disposing of original contents <g>) and take it to the vets/doctor/hospital for safe disposal when full.
I also used to use large used coffee tins for my sharps, they sent metal nice and rusty and blunted it in the process.

[Cretia]

I meant to say box. I should have asked how to dispose of them before-hand, since I've never used them before. And I correct myself on saying that "most of us do not have a biohazard box." None of my friends do. Great creativity there, those ideas didnt even cross my mind, niether did the thought of someone trying to reuse the needle-?! Are you refering to heroine addicts and such? i didn't even think a druggy would do something that stupid.

[Wrasse]

Originally Posted by Cretia

Are you refering to heroine addicts and such? i didn't even think a druggy would do something that stupid.

ROFLMAO
They do much worse.

[CheshireCat]

I don't suppose junkies would take drugs if they weren't daft, they'll share and re-use if desperate for a fix I suppose. I've heard that syringes are given out for free in some areas, to discourage re-use and sharing.
I think I'd avoid bending needles just in case you slip or the needle pokes through the plastic as it did with you. Even tho' the syringe loses its function the needle is still pointy. Drop it in a large, well marked carton as suggested.
You should also dispose safely (via vets etc) rather than throwing in the trash can in case some poor trash man or someone at the tip/incinerator gets injured.
I've never tried burning them, maybe needles won't disintegrate at lower temperatures.
Go and get your tetanus updated and get professional advice on the needle marks.

[reptilemama]

I don't know about other states, but in Illinois it's illegal for a vet to accept needles used at home. I'm not really sure about taking back needles they gave out, though. Maybe ask at a pharmacy to see what they recommend.

[stckinlodi]

i have one of those boxes but it because my g-ma is a diabetic

[eddie]

I pricked my finger....

Reminds me of an old George Carlin line... about two way words....

It's ok to prick your finger.. but don't get caught fingering your .... you get the picture

As for a tetnus shot.. check with your doc about it, the one you had may still be effective, although another one won't harm you.

[Cretia]

See you guys, i have this mentality: If someone is stupid enough to pull a syringe out of a dump to shoot up- more power to them, it's their own stupid fault. If God wants them, they'll contract a horrible illness and die from their own chosen ignorance, or they'll live to once more hunt down a needle in whatever waste pile they can find. If we lived in a poor country, and there was a shortage on medical supplies and people were desperate, that would be completely different. I guess that's why it didnt cross my mind, I was just worried about it poking someone through a bag, like the garbage guy etc... and I ended up poking my own stupid self in the process . I'm going to look into the tetna shot. I have a depo shot coming up in a day or two, so i can kill two things in one trip. If I were to get something from my snake, how long do ya'll think it would take for me to get sick? I mean, I thought you could get sick from just handling them w/o washing your hands. I freakin' poked myself w/ a contaminated needle! I feel fine so far, I wont really worry unless i start to feel yucky, but still...
(By the way- I am going to put the needles in a coffee container to throw away. I dont want my previous statement to imply that i am going to purposefully cap the needles so a heroine addict can risk killing his/herself. i'm not THAT callous towards them. )