blood contact with seemingly unbroken skin pose a health risk?

Question

I am a NY state EMS and today when a paramedic was atempting to draw blood from a patient and inject saline, a saline droplet mixed with blood landed on my skin. I wiped it off with gauze and didnt see any cut there, should i worry about anything?

Answer 1

no offense at all, but shouldnt u kno this as an EMS? and if ur skin is unbroken then it shouldnt be a problem at all, it didnt get in ur blood stream and its not gonna just seep thru ur unbroken skin!
tata

Answer 2

The NY state EMS should have an exposure protocol. They generally require that you report all exposures and have testing done. The testing is performed on the patient that you were exposed to (at no charge to the patient) as well as on you. Because you have waited, it will be more difficult to test the "source" patient at this time. HIV is not the only blood borne illness that you could be exposed to. There is also the risk of Hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis B and C are more contagious than HIV. It does sound like your exposure was so minimal that your risk, though greater than zero, is very slight.

Answer 3

Hi,

I believe that most likely, there won't be any problem. However, you should have cleaned your skin with antiseptics instead of just wiping it off with a gauze. I don't want to scare you but just to be safe, you should go have your blood tested. It's always better to know than just wondering.

Answer 4

i wouldn't think so, but blood carries all kinds of diseases, next time i would definately wipe it off with alcohol pad, and maybe get tested every so often since you are and ems... i guess you probably have to anyway

Answer 5

check with your doctor or local health department with this question