Why Is Needle Safety an Important Consideration When Choosing a Medical Syringe?

Capacity, gauge, and needle length are standard syringe listing characteristics. After the injection, it is very important to consider how the needle will be handled as it will still be exposed. 

For the purposes of choosing a safe needle for home administration, providing injections to someone else, working in a medical or pet environment, you should be considering how easily it can be managed safely.

Why Needle Safety Matters

Needles, according to the FDA, can be transmitters of bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B, C and HIV. This concern prompted the creation of the 2000 Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act. Later, the Bloodborne Pathogens standard by OSHA was altered to recognize the use of safer sharps as an engineering control, provided that the sharp has sharps injury prevention. These new regulations are for employers, but syringe design should focus on prevention as well.

Protective Caps vs. Engineered Safety

Mechanisms

The two are frequently confused with each other but are different.

Standard protective caps

Typically, most medical syringes come with a cap covering the needle. The purpose of a cap is to protect the needle before use and keep it covered when storing. Cap is considered to be packaging, not a safety device.

Safety design engineering

According to OSHA, a sharp with engineered sharps injury protection is a needle with an integrated safety device or mechanism that significantly decreases the possibility of an exposure incident. An example of such an item provided by OSHA during rulemaking is a syringe with a slide-on sheath covering the needle after use.

They decrease the risks, but do not eliminate them.

Insulin Syringe With Safety Needle: Two Separate Features

People who are looking for an insulin syringe with a safety needle actually have two separate properties in mind.

Insulin syringe is described by its capacity. These syringes are made for measuring U-100 insulin, have a capacity of up to 1 cc and normally come with a permanently attached needle, thus minimizing dead space in the syringe. A safety needle is a property of a syringe that comes after using it due to a built-in system. One does not necessarily mean the other.

CheaPinz's 1cc insulin syringes are sterile and fixed-needle syringes calibrated for U-100 insulin. The category page describes these properties but does not mention any built-in system, so if it's required - check the product page first. 

Syringe and Needle Types You Will Encounter

• Fixed-needle syringes: Needle cannot be detached from syringe. Insulin syringes are common ones, available in various gauges and needle sizes.

• Luer lock syringes: Needle or tip screws into threads that provide better hold. Examples of such are 3mL Luer lock syringes.

• Luer slip syringes: Needle or tip is simply pressed into the barrel without threads. Both types can be seen in the 1mL Luer lock and Luer slip syringes category.

• Needle tips individually: Available separately from syringes in different gauges and sizes. Higher gauge number indicates smaller needle size. View needle tips.

The choice of the syringe depends on the application; therefore, consult your healthcare professional.

What to Check When Comparing Medical Syringes

• Uncompromised, labeled single-use sterile packaging

• Correct capacity and appropriate scale (U-100 markings on insulin syringes)

• Gauge and length of needle indicated

• Type of tip: fixed needle, Luer lock, or Luer slip

• Safety mechanism (actual one documented, not just assumed based on presence of a cap)

• Pack size and a disposal method for purchased pack size

  
  

Single-Use Products and Sharps Disposal

A single-use syringe is intended to be used only once and disposed of afterward. Disposal is a critical component of safety.

According to the FDA, used needles and other sharps should be immediately put into an FDA-cleared sharps disposal container. In the absence of such a container, according to the FDA, a heavy-duty plastic household container, like a laundry detergent jug, can be used. It must be understood that loose needles are never to be placed in household garbage or recycling bins, nor are they ever to be flushed down the toilet. Disposal procedures of a filled container depend on the local jurisdiction.

In addition, CheapPinz provides information about a 1-quart sharps disposal container with a lockable cap. If the FDA-cleared container is required, make sure of that.

Let a Healthcare Professional Guide the Choice

There is no universal syringe or needle that works for all situations in the medical field. You can contact your prescriber, pharmacist, or clinic to determine what size and kind of syringes and needles are appropriate for your situation.

Conclusion

Needle safety is already considered before the actual insertion. It is necessary to distinguish the differences between a cap and a safety device, between an insulin syringe and a safety syringe, to ensure correct interpretation of a medical equipment product listing. This, coupled with the use of a single-use syringe and proper disposal of needles, makes up the basic safety rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a safety syringe?

It is a syringe that incorporates a feature such as a sliding sheath to minimize the possibility of an accidental needle stick injury.

Are insulin syringes and safety syringes the same thing?

Insulin medical syringes are those which are calibrated for U-100 insulin while safety syringes pertain to injury protection. Both features can be present in some products, so refer to the specification.

Is a needle cap a safety feature on a syringe?

It covers the needle but it is not a safety feature.

Can I reuse a single-use syringe?

I cannot do so since a single-use syringe is only meant to be used once and discarded into the sharps container.

What should I do with the used needles?

I should dispose of them in an FDA cleared sharps container immediately or a heavy duty plastic household container in case there is no sharps container around.