Disposable Syringe

The main use of a disposable syringe is for the extraction of blood, as it is an essential part of the diagnosis of a disease. These syringes are used to avoid the risk of infection from one patient to another. A syringe that isn’t sterilized correctly is a potential source of diseases, so do not ever reuse a syringe.

The reuse and improper sterilization of syringes have a high risk to transmit blood-borne pathogens. Due to this reason, health care professionals should always use disposable syringe. A survey showed that up to 30% of infections from immunization in developing countries are caused by syringes which were not properly sterilized. To avoid this critical situation, doctors, nurses and other health care providers can use a plastic disposable syringe which presents an internal mechanism that locks the plunger and impedes refilling after the first use. Disposable syringes reduce waste and improve injection safety.

Injection of insulin to diabetic patients takes place through a disposable syringe as well. Reusing insulin syringe is not as dangerous as sharing needles because it’s the same person using again that one syringe, but it should be avoided anyway, as the patient may have a weak immune system. If the needle is reused, it can get damaged, blunted and make the injection more painful, which is why disposable syringe is commonly used to administer insulin to diabetic patients. In recent times though, alternative methods such as insulin pens have been introduced.

Disposable syringes are also used to administer local anesthesia by dentists. Local anesthesia is near the sensory nerves to temporarily impede the pain impulses’ conduction to the brain.

Disposable syringes sometimes are used to draw blood samples as well. They allow greater precision compared to evacuated tube systems: disposable syringe together with butterfly needles often is preferred when drawing blood from children, adults who have thin blood vessels, patients who have muscle spasticity or nervous tremors problems, or patients who need to get blood samples from a vessel which is very close to the skin.

• Decontamination: Disposable medical syringe ensures a contamination-free instrument before each injection. When a disposable syringe gets to the healthcare center pre-sterilized, the sterilization process isn’t needed, thus saving doctors and healthcare providers time and money.
• Traceability: After a syringe is used, disinfected, and put into storage, its cleanliness still isn’t guaranteed. Disposable, one-time-use syringes give you the ability to account for all pieces of inventory and full traceability as well. The syringe’s lot number allows it to be traced back to the medical manufacturing plant in order to avoid inconsistencies and issues.
• Supply Logistics: Syringes that get lost, broken, or stolen represent a significant loss of money for a healthcare center. Single-use syringes not only help in tracking supplies but also ensure that hospitals do not have an abundance of one tool, which saves capital.
• Risk Management: Avoiding the spread of diseases is one of the highest priorities in a healthcare center. Contaminated syringes spread infection, create health problems, and can complicate surgical recovery. When a syringe is used only once, there is no risk of cross-contamination between patients.
• Cost Allocation: Accounting for all tools used in a procedure helps to precisely calculate the cost of each one. When using a reusable syringe, the mix of initial cost, sterilization cost, labor cost, and utilities can make it difficult to accurately calculate the total cost of procedures.
• Waste: Many argue about the waste that single-use syringe creates. However, in actuality, the energy, water, detergent, steam and electricity used to decontaminate reusable syringes is more detrimental to the environment than single-use syringes.

• DO NOT re-use syringe that has been used already before, including mixing syringes. Used, disposable syringes cannot be sterilized and eventually change shape at high temperatures, which is crucial to sterilization. Health workers who try to decontaminate, clean, and sterilize disposable equipment are at risk of accidental needle stick injuries. Re-using syringes and needles can also transmit infections between patients or from patient to doctor/nurse;
• Prepare injections in a clean, designated area that is free from blood and body fluid contamination.
• Follow product-specific recommendations for storage, handling and use of vaccines.
• Do not remove the used needle from the syringe with your hands.
• NEVER leave the needle in the top of the vaccine vial to withdraw multiple doses, as it provides a direct route for microorganisms to enter the vial and contaminate the vaccine. The needle used to withdraw the vaccine from the vial should also be used to administer the dose;
• ALWAYS use a new needle and a new syringe every time an injection is given. The practice of loading multiple doses in a syringe and then injecting different patients is dangerous and never justifiable;
• ALWAYS use a sterile needle and sterile syringe to mix each vial of freeze-dried vaccine. Then throw away the mixing syringe and needle in the needle-disposal box;
• Discard a needle that has touched any non-sterile surface.
• ALWAYS use a new needle and a new syringe each time vaccine is withdrawn from a multi-dose vial. Re-using the same syringe to give injections to several patients, even if the needle is changed, is a dangerous practice. It allows pathogens to contaminate the multi-dose vial and then be transmitted from patient to patient both by the contaminated vaccine and the syringe.

The disposable syringe was invented in 1956 for the purpose of developing a method of vaccination that could completely eliminate the risks of infection. The syringes used beforehand were made of glass and were for multiple uses, which was sterilized each time they were used to avoid the transmission of dangerous pathogens from person to person or animal to animal. Doctors knew from experience though that it was still possible to transmit infections even if sterilization had been carried out correctly. The only solution had to be the use of disposable syringes made from a different material.

According to a WHO’s estimation in 2002, syringe reuse leads to 21.7 million cases of Hepatitis B, 2 million cases of Hepatitis C, and around 96,000 cases of HIV per year. Fortunately, though, disposable syringes made of PVC plastic are a commonly used item in medical treatment nowadays.

The modern disposable syringe is mainly used in modern medicine for the injection of drugs and vaccines or for the extraction of blood. They often are used instead of a reusable syringe in an effort to avoid spreading diseases. The most common uses of disposable syringes are the injection of insulin to diabetic patients and the administration of local anesthesia by a dentist.