sharps

[Skimmingstone226]

I’d be interested to know how members doing SI dispose of their used needles?

[wedgewood]

Local chemists take my full box . No questions asked . Local authority does not take them .

[Skimmingstone226 in reply to wedgewood]

do they give new new box?

[wedgewood in reply to Skimmingstone226]

No , I buy them from Medisave when I buy needles and syringes. They are very cheap .

[Jillymo in reply to Skimmingstone226]

I have to buy my boxes along with my sharpes but they are quite cheap. I have brought them off of ebay before now.

[Contralto in reply to wedgewood]

Interesting Neither Chemists nor my local authority takes them, only my Surgery.

[wedgewood in reply to Contralto]

When disposal is made difficult , it leads to irresponsible behaviour —like people just putting sharps in land -fill bins . I know that some people put needles in jam jars and put them in land fill .

[Jillymo]

Now unlike wedgewood my chemist wont take them but the local authority does ! I suppose every area is different.

Somebody on here ( could have been wedgewood ) gave a good tip of reycling all syringes and plastic bits and only put the needles in the yellow sharp bins. It most certainly makes the bins last a lot longer.

[wedgewood in reply to Jillymo]

Yes that’s what I do .I use blunt needles to withdraw the B12 .

After all it’s the needle that has penetrated the skin that holds the possible danger of contamination . I wrap all the other leftovers tightly and sellotape them .

[Skimmingstone226 in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you all for your very helpful replies. That makes sense regarding the needles too. I’m going to check out the local chemist. Many thanks again

[Midnight_Voice in reply to wedgewood]

I wouldn’t want even an uncontaminated needle out where it could stick in anybody.

So we work off ‘sharp’, and needles plus the two bits of the ampoule, which our snapper does not break entirely smoothly, go in the sharps box.

We used to put the needles back in their little tubes, for extra safety, but that is a slightly hazardous step in its own right, and we noticed the instructions say not to do that, so now the needle goes into the sharps box as is, and the tube goes with the other bits.

[mountainice in reply to Midnight_Voice]

I am not quite understand the hazardous step of putting the needle in its plastic tube, which is what I do and put the whole thing in the sharps bin. I didn't know there was any other way.

[FlipperTD in reply to mountainice]

It seems odd, but re-sheathing needles is one of the commonest causes of needlestick injuries in the NHS. Granted if it's your own needle you're re-sheathing, then the risk is contained. I re-sheathed needles for many years, and never stuck one in myself, but it's a big risk and easily minimised. Likewise needle & syringe combined go in; don't dissemble them, but that's fine for me to say when someone else is providing the sharps bins! Don't over-fill the bins either. Be safe. Life's risky enough.

[mountainice in reply to FlipperTD]

I stuck myself once pulling the plastic off, so I use my thumbnail now to lever it. To resheath I have already laid the plastic on a writing pad on my bedside cabinet and just slide the needle in without touching the sheath. Once it's in there I pick it up and click. I bin the syringe in normal rubbish, I've not recycled those, does anyone I wonder. Thanks for your thoughts.

[FlipperTD in reply to mountainice]

Hi. If you risk e-sheathing the needle, then silly as it may seem, rather than sliding it in to the sheath, injuries occur when someone slides it down the outside when distracted, and into whichever bit of their hand they find! I have experience of this from having a large team of phlebotomists. Needlestick injuries were not common, but not unknown. Then follows the inevitable 'Occupational Health' visit, and various other bits of 'follow-up' and form filling that need not have happened. From the inside of the NHS, disposal of sharps bins was easy, but I appreciate that from the outside it might not be quite as easy. Whilst a GP Surgery might not be helpful, I suspect that a local NHS hospital might be more accommodating.

[mountainice in reply to FlipperTD]

Thank you I can understand if other people involved, but it's only me doing it so I think all safe.I already rang the local council a while back, and I said I would get back to them when my bin reaches the designated line. They collect from my house, which is good. My bin has lasted 2.5 years.

[FlipperTD in reply to mountainice]

This is a very minor issue, isn't it? Sticking yourself with your own needle is hardly any worse than being clumsy sewing a button on, but hypodermics are very, very sharp and penetrate deeper, more quickly. So my advice stands at 'don't resheath, put it all in the bin' and your council sound a decent organisation. Be safe, be careful. 👍😀

[mountainice in reply to FlipperTD]

You're right, they are very sharp!

[Midnight_Voice in reply to mountainice]

Anybody who turns up at A&E with a needlestick injury from SIing, it’ll go round the NHS like wildfire, and set our cause back years 😢💉🤦🏻‍♂️

There is also the risk of confusing a resheathed needle with a fresh one, before it is put in the sharps box, This is a small risk in individual use, but possible more of a hazard in a wider clinical setting,

I’ll dig out where I read not to resheath them, probably on the needle packaging or the box, and post a screenshot tomorrow.

[mountainice in reply to Midnight_Voice]

Thanks. I've always just thought it seemed worse to handle an unsheathed needle into the box rather than re-sheathing (for me, anyway). I will try dropping it straight in the box next time. People saying here they put the glass ampoules in there, is that allowed?

[Midnight_Voice in reply to Midnight_Voice]

As promised. Pretty unequivocal…

Terumo Agani needle box warning not to resheath

[Nackapan in reply to Jillymo]

Yrs I do that with the glass ampoules abd needles only in the sharps box.

[Nackapan]

I've bought a plastic sharps bin. £1.70Have neen prescribed a yellow sharps bin.

Same ftom mortisons chemist.

Mine has a telephone number on.

I ring and leave it on the doorstep early sm when stated .

It's a scheme not the council.

think NHS trust .

[Lizzano]

check with your County Council. Here in Hertfordshire we are given a Sharps yellow bin for our needles which are replaced whenever the bin is full. I might add I am a Type 1 diabetic and have many needles to dispose of. I also collect all my plastic needle protectors and recycle them.

[mountainice]

Our chemist won't take the sharps bin now so I rang the local authority and they collect. I put the glass vials in a jam jar with a lid and put them in the recycling, don't know if I should. I put the needles with plastic cover in the sharps bin. Again, reading the comments on here, people seem to leave off the plastic cover, but I prefer the needle covered up when I am handling it.

[Skimmingstone226]

Thank you for all the great advice. I suppose my worry with disposing of needles when I SI is will questions be asked? Why and where am I getting needles from? I don’t want to go to my prescribing chemist because they know me and know that I am not a diabetic and have not been prescribed injectables. If I go to a strange chemist will they say why don’t you take it to your own chemist or your surgery. If I go to council will they start to ask questions or say why haven’t you been told by your doctor where to dispose of these?

[Contralto in reply to Skimmingstone226]

My local authority told me to contact my Surgery or a Chemist!

[Contralto]

We were putting them in plastic drinks bottles until my Surgery finally gave me a sharps box. Once full, I return them to the Surgery. 😀

[Twaddletop]

Hey Skimmingstone

I’m a bit naughty as I shove the used syringes in the sharps box supplied for my biologic injections. Have you asked at your local pharmacy? They might be able to suggest something. Good luck c

[SigNi]

I am in Germany - I was told by the recycling point (where they take hazardous materials) to put all the medical waste Iincluding needles) in the household waste bin (non-recycleables) - it gets incinerated by the garbage point. I have been putting them in a big plastic sharps box, but will shift to something else after that is full - no need to add a big plastic bin to the process. perhaps a sturdy cardboard box marked "medical" or "needles." I do put the used ampules in a bottle and toss into the glass recycling.

[mysticalmoooo]

Neither my GP nor my chemist will take my sharps box as my B12 isn't prescribed. My local needle exchange are quite happy to take them, did shock the lad when I went in the first time and asked! I also use a BD Safe-Clip from Amazon when travelling, snip the needle off and put the plastic syringe in the normal bin.

[Showgem]

I phone the local council and they collect my sharps box from my doorstep and leave a new one just like they do with diabetic needles.

[lambuth_eagle]

I'm in the US and order my sharps containers off of either Amazon or Vitality Medical. Our county has a drop off place for full/sealed sharps containers. No questions, just drop them off.