What to do after a needlestick or blood exposure at work

In the first minutes

Needlestick or cut: wash the area with soap and water. Splash to the nose, mouth or skin: flush with water. Splash to the eyes: irrigate with clean water, saline or a sterile eyewash.

Don't squeeze the wound, and don't apply bleach or other disinfectants to skin. Neither has been shown to reduce infection risk.

Report it and get evaluated

Report the exposure to your supervisor immediately so the employer's post-exposure procedure starts. Then get a medical evaluation promptly. If treatment to prevent HIV (post-exposure prophylaxis) is recommended, it should begin as soon as possible, ideally within hours of the exposure.

If you are self-employed or work alone, decide in advance where you would go: an occupational health clinic, urgent care or emergency department.

What your employer must provide

Under paragraph (f)(3), after an exposure incident the employer must make a confidential medical evaluation and follow-up available immediately, at no cost to the employee. That includes documenting the route and circumstances, identifying and testing the source individual where feasible and permitted by law, testing the employee's blood with consent, and post-exposure prophylaxis when medically indicated, plus counseling.

The evaluating healthcare professional gives the employer a written opinion within 15 days under paragraph (f)(5). That opinion is limited to whether hepatitis B vaccination is indicated and whether you were informed of the results and of any conditions needing follow-up. Other findings stay confidential.

Sharps injury log

Employers who must keep OSHA injury and illness records also keep a sharps injury log recording the type and brand of device, the work area and a description of how the incident happened, without identifying the employee.