CDC - Information for Patients - Injection Safety

CDC - Information for Patients - Injection Safety

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.

Patient Resources

• Injection Safety FAQs for Patients
• A Patient Safety Threat - Syringe Reuse

One & Only Campaign

Visit the One & Only Campaign page.

Posters

1 Needle + 1 Syringe + 1 Time = 0 Infections

• Rx for Safe Injections  [PDF - 271 KB]
  Rx for Safe Injections (Spanish version)  [PDF - 3.71 MB]

• It’s Elementary  [PDF - 495 KB]
  It’s Elementary (Spanish version)  [PDF - 1.21 MB]

One & Only Campaign Logo

• Patients  [PDF - 267 KB]

Brochure

• What Patients Need to Know About Safe Medical Injections  [PDF - 973 KB]
  
  What Patients Need to Know About Safe Medical Injections (Spanish version)  [PDF - 1 MB]