HANDLE WITH CARE - NOT PANIC

Spring is the time for cleaning, but some items need to be handled with a
little more care than others.

Gayle Carriere, HIV and AIDS outreach nurse for the Thompson Cariboo Region
of the Interior Health Authority, says needles and condoms pose a serious
potential health hazard, but, if handled properly, disposing of them is safe.

When you come across a used needle, Carriere says you shouldn't leave it
there expecting someone else to deal with it.

"We have to take pride in our community. It's up to everyone."

When picking a needle up, Carriere says leather or rubber gloves should be
used along with tongs. The needle should be placed in a sealable container,
such as a coffee can or pop bottle with a lid, then placed in the trash."
"Finding a needle isn't a 911 emergency is the message we're trying to send."

Used needles, she says, are found in just about every area of the city and
in all kinds of places.

"Industrial parks, city parks, backyards, alleys, just about anywhere you
can go, needles have been found. But you don't need to be wearing a
biohazard suit to deal with it."

Children, she adds, should never handle a needle.

"We encourage children when they find a needle to tell an adult and not
touch it."

For safety's sake, Carriere advises any time a needle is found on the
ground, assume it is used and infected with a blood-borne pathogen such as
HIV or Hepatitis B and C.

Should someone be pricked by a needle, says Carriere, squeeze the area and
make it bleed, then wash it with soap under running water. You should then
immediately go to the nearest hospital for possible antibiotics.

Residents needn't fear needles, however, as there have been no cases of
someone getting a disease from accidentally pricking themselves.

Sharing a needle will nearly always result in transferring diseases, but
the chances of getting one from an accidental prick are slim, says
Carriere. "The chances of getting HIV that way are .3 per cent while the
chances of getting Hepatitis C is 10 per cent and Hepatitis B is 30 per cent."

One of the easiest ways to deal with the problem, she concludes, is by not
leaving needles lying around.

"We want the intravenous drug users to take responsibility and either
return the needles at an exchange site or dispose of them properly."

Over 10,000 needles a month are exchanged at the health unit in Kamloops.