PARENT URGES CAUTION AFTER SON PRICKED BY DISCARDED NEEDLE

When Ronaca Blenkin sent her young son and his cousin out to play recently,
she was confident they would be safe in her quiet, rural neighborhood.

So she was alarmed when the two boys came in to tell her they had found a
needle.

That alarm turned to horror when six-year-old Ethen told her he'd pricked
his finger on it.

And while little Ethen was lucky - he didn't contract any disease from the
needle poke - his mom wants needle drug users to have a thought for others
when disposing of their used kits.

The accident happened in late August, when Ethen and his older cousin left
the Martindale Road home went to play in the nearby woods. "They came
across a syringe and picked it up," Ronaca said.

"My son put a lid on it and the pin went through the lid and into his finger."

When the boys told her this, Ronaca didn't hesitate. She bundled them into
the family vehicle and rushed Ethen to the hospital.

"I was very worried about him," she said. "It took two weeks to find out if
he had caught something.

"It was terrible, horrible. His dad took it really hard. He thought of AIDS
right away."

As it turned out, Ethen was fine. However, the family was left wondering
about the safety of the kids.

"When you put your kids out to play, you think they're going to be safe in
your neighborhood," she said.

"When something like this happens, you feel like you have to check on them
all the time.

"It's almost like you have to rake the entire forest before you let them in
there."

The carelessness of the unidentified needle user infuriated the anxious mother.

"I was outraged," she said. "Why can't they dispose of those kinds of
things properly? There are all kinds of places to dispose of them, and
nobody asks any questions. I just want to point out that if anyone uses
this stuff, they should dispose of it properly, not just chuck it in the
woods, where kids could be playing."

If a needle is found, said central Island communicable disease co-ordinator
Claire Coombs, the most important thing to keep in mind is not to touch it.

"They should find an adult to help them with it," she said.

"We advise adults to use tongs or pliers to pick it up and put it in some
kind of puncture-proof container with a lid, such as a coffee tin. Then,
it's good if the lid can be taped on."

Coombs said the tin can then be put in the garbage or taken to a local
health unit for disposal.

"People should wash their hands with soap and water, even if they don't
touch it," she said.