Information for Patients

 

Patients need to be aware that unsafe injection practices can be a serious threat to their health. Healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, and anyone providing injections) should never reuse a needle or syringe either from one patient to another or to withdraw medication from a vial. Both needle and syringe must be discarded once they have been used. It is not safe to change the needle and reuse the syringe - this practice can transmit disease.

Reusing a needle or syringe can put patients in danger of getting hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and HIV.

• Page last reviewed: May 21, 2010
• Page last updated: February 9, 2011
• Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
  Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP)