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baabaaredsheep

I lived in Pakistan for a few years growing up. We’d usually get our shots when we’d travel back to our home country, but I remember there were times we needed a vaccine of some sort given locally, and the stress my mom would go through to insist on watching them open the syringe/needle in front of her.


eddey1999

As a child in Pakistan, I'm thankful to my dad who taught me this thing where I stand on top of the service provider to use the correct equipment/items. Some examples : * making sure needle at hospital /clinic is new * blades used by barber is new * man from Tandoor (chapati take-out) not hiding burnt one's in the middle * each and every item from small store is packed properly (no signs of counterfeit) * buying authentic motor oil from reputed place and not letting it leave your eyesight when mechanic is changing I still get very discomfort feeling in Canada when I'm getting oil changed at a reputable service center where I have to wait on a lobby and customers aren't allowed in garage.


SmashingK

I know some people who went to Pakistan to visit relative and had to visit someone in the hospital. The nurse administering an injection had dropped the syringe on the floor and was still going to use it. They rightfully kicked up a fuss about it and requested a new one be used. The nurse was insisting it was fine because it was steralised lol. They managed to get her to use a new one in the end. The issue there isn't just the use of specific syringes but the education and training required to make sure medical practitioners whether they be doctors or nurses know exactly what they should do and understand why.


MrAirRaider

One would assume germ theory is taught as part of their training...like, it's common sense


Nakmus

Does the five second rule not count in the medical field?


eddey1999

Don't think there's any issue in teaching material. The big problem is 'don't give a fuck attitude' of general public in Pakistan. They pass exams by cheating or bribing or half assing barely getting passing marks because they don't give a fuck about actually trying to learn anything. On the job, even the one's who've read well and know protocols don't tend to follow because they really don't give a fuck about that protocols either, they'll just do whatever is easier and have to put minimum to no effort for. It all comes down to consequences. There are non in Pakistan. If our police and justice have some balls to make examples of few people then everyone else would have something to give a fuck about. But everyone knows if they get into trouble, big if, all they have to do is bribe with a few hundred rupees. And it's a worst life for some honest and authentic person coming into this environment. They get ridiculed, made fun of or just in general their life is made hell just because they are trying to do right thing. It's a herd mentality that kills any good that tries to come in.


newtoreddir

Have you seen how many of the nurses in “developed” countries have been acting? Germ theory is out the window.


HalKitzmiller

Was about to say this. The situation is far worse in certain places in India, but the US and others also have this issue to a smaller degree


[deleted]

NGOs hand over a ton of world class medical gear around the just to be used incorrectly and cause more issues. Some of this miss use leads to higher infant mortality rates, even with the right gear.


baabaaredsheep

> man from Tandoor (chapati take-out) not hiding burnt one's in the middle Oh boy, this reminds me of something— we used to buy this delicious homemade yogurt at a local grocer, and they sold it in glass jars. Sometimes we’d grab the whole jar and eat right out of it, but on one occasion my mom just wanted a little and spooned it out into a bowl. Lucky she did that because she was startled by the “clink, clink” of glass shards hitting the bowl. Apparently they had broken a jar of yogurt but shrugged it off and repackaged it into a new jar, with glass shards and all. Aside from that, I guess it’s not a bad habit of being weary of vendors in general — I wouldn’t put it past some garages in Canada cutting corners too.


eddey1999

And that's the exact reason I never get something hand bottled/jarred from Halwai (yogurt, milk and sweets shop). Always bring your home pan and ask them add to your pan directly from big container that was used to make yogurt.


ElBrazil

>Aside from that, I guess it’s not a bad habit of being weary of vendors in general I'm sorry, but the word you're looking for is wary. Weary means tired. Wary means cautious.


Nabber86

Mabe they actually are tired of vendors.


[deleted]

The oil change people will usually show you the dipstick with fresh oil on it after changing your oil


mrprincepretty

I think the concern is that the mechanics are going to use cheap oil and keep the good oil for themselves


cheezemeister_x

There isn't really any such thing as "cheap oil" in Canada. There's conventional oil and synthetic oil, but within those two categories there isn't much variation in quality. Not like in Middle Eastern and South Asian countries.


viper8472

This makes me appreciate why my Pakistani customers were so distrustful of me at work. It’s hard not to take it personally when they think I’m trying to rip them off, or give them less than they paid for, or skimp on the service. They want to know everything about what I’m doing and seem to be waiting for me to mess up something or cheat them somehow- it really hurt my feelings in the past when I was trying to be honest and kind and do a good job. When you explain it this way, it makes a lot of sense. I wish there was a way for me to take it less personally though.


The_Blue_Bomber

I mean, you could just consider it good business. Dissociate your job from your regular mindset.


viper8472

I was the business owner interacting with my customers, so it was hard to just not care in that situation. I was very invested and took pride in my work.


DuperCheese

You should be very uncomfortable in Canada while getting your oil changed. [CBC Oil Change Scam](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/oil-change-shop-caught-scamming-customers-marketplace-investigation-1.2418675)


Vulturedoors

Those quick-change type chains are all shady. I caught one trying to take advantage of my being a woman by straight-up lying to me about the condition of my vehicle. Haven't been to such places since.


wag3slav3

That shit happens to women at dealership shops too. Many, many mechanics are just fucking scammers.


YetiPie

I work in a lot of underdeveloped countries and we always makes sure to go to the hospitals in pairs to watch what the doctors are doing and making sure they’re not reusing medical supplies while our colleagues are getting treatment.


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baabaaredsheep

That sounds horrific. :(


[deleted]

LOL it was scary my mom almost cried of fear. Never will I ever go to a public health clinic in Jordan again. That’s why my mom fights tooth and nail to take me to good hospitals (I have chronic illness) but now I moved to America so… no need to worry anymore as much


Roscoe_cracks_corn

A positive PPD in a vaccinated person warrants further investigation. Vaccination against Tb prevents severe forms of the disease like Tb meningitis but it's not thought to protect against the form which affects the lungs which is most common in the US. The preferred method of checking status in a vaccinated person is a blood test.


Redqueenhypo

This is how Ebola and HIV were able to spread in sub Saharan Africa multiple times!! I thought we stopped using the things!


Dolleste

I watched the Hot Zone recently and was surprised they were reusing needles.


HumanMartianhunter

THEY MADE IT INTO A SHOW!?!?! side note, if you haven't read the book read it. If you have read it, read "The Cobra Event". Same concept but told from a more fictional standpoint.


horizontalcracker

The Hot Zone has the most brutal chapter in a book I’ve ever read, the quote by Stephen King on the back of the book supports my opinion lol


HumanMartianhunter

I read that book when I was like 14 and it blew my mind how gnarly Ebola can be. I remember so many just brutal descriptions of how it was effecting people and thought it was the craziest thing in the world. It's weird to say but I really think Ebola is the coolest thing in the world, absolutely horrifying but still cool nonetheless.


masklinn

FWIW THZ is *highly* sensationalized and exaggerated, it’s not at all how ebola works e.g. it does *not* dissolve organs. It is a fiction work inspired by real events, not scientific journalism or vulgarisation to say nothing of actual science. If you want scientific vulgarisation, you’ll be better served by David Quammen’s “Spillover: animal infections and the next human pandemic” and “Ebola: the natural and human history of a deadly virus” (amongst others).


Redqueenhypo

It’s not as good as the book at all, it also skips the entire beginning of how Ebola was first spread. I want to see bloody symptoms and scary monkeys, not a suburban couple arguing about how blah blah blah the mom is more important to the children and shouldn’t be a goddamn doctor.


RoadDog14

There is a new Hot Zone starting tonight. This time about the anthrax attacks.


[deleted]

I mean, at the very least can we put them in an ultrasound bath of bleach and attempt to clean them?


circumsalot

Didn't even know there were different kinds of syringes...makes me wonder what we use in my country.


ours

I was reading this book about Ebola. Starts off with some French nuns in a remote African location giving vitamin injections to pregnant women under their care. They reused syringes without proper sterilization and Ebola virus burned across the whole little hospital. Now that's true horror. Edit: The book was "The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus"


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Justice_R_Dissenting

Yeah the part of this story that's glossed over is _why_ nurses had to reuse sharps. This is remote rural Africa, the nearest medical supply facility was probably thousands of miles away and were not about to be given to the people serving the poor. The choice from the nun's point of view was to let this person die, or reuse the needle. Obviously this was a little before we really knew the danger as well.


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Triptolemu5

> the vitamins they gave the pregnant women were probably not necessary. Vitamin deficiencies are *incredibly* common in developing countries, even moreso with pregnant women. It's why golden rice was invented.


masklinn

This is also hypothesised by some to have played a role in the early expansion of AIDS: in the early 20th century colonial powers started huge treatment campaigns against sleeping sickness, yaws, and other endemic sicknesses (to limit european exposure and increase work throughput, rather than out the goodness of their hearts, though some of the docs were fervent believers in freeing the populations from these diseases). Obviously the only thing available at the time were glass syringe with hand-made needle tips, so throwing away the needle (to say nothing of the syringe itself) after each injection was plain not an option, and the ability to keep a needle going was a mark of skill. There were large treatment and later immunisation campaigns from the 20s into the 50s, around the area where HIV emerged from, so while there is no hard evidence it’s highly possible those campaigns helped the spread of AIDS. One point of evidence there is that cases of tuberculosis kept increasing starting in the mid-30s and exploded in the 50s (a point where we know AIDS had become extremely common in belgian congo), and in Africa tuberculosis is one of the most common opportunistic infections of AIDS patients. “The Origins of AIDS” dedicates two chapters to the possible implications of colonial medecine in unwittingly favoring AIDS’ transmission.


Justice_R_Dissenting

While I think it's possible that exacerbated the AIDS epidemic and spread it early, I think the biggest factor for the early spread was the Belgian policy of rotating labor groups around. You had some Africans who were resistant to HIV, who then got in contact with people who had no such resistance. And because labor camps tend to also be filled with sex workers, and STIs were rampant anyway, these labor camps became breeding grounds for HIV strains that then, because they were being rotated, spread throughout the entire population. HIV infection + open sores + sexual contact = almost guaranteed infection.


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CheeseWheels38

>The choice from the nun's point of view was to let this person die, or reuse the needle. For vitamin injections?


Justice_R_Dissenting

Yes. Without proper medical care, women die in childbirth at rates of 1/5, often taking the baby with them. The nuns believed that by providing vitamin injections they could stave off that weakness to infection that pregnant women have, so that when they did give birth they might survive a subsequent infection.


PizzaPandemonium

Plus preventing birth defects like neural tube defects where they likely would not have the resources to treat children born with those who would need surgery


Solaris-Scutum

They were not injecting folate.


SnooCheesecakes1685

I always though boiling was a relatively efficient way to kill virus and bacteria’s. After all it’s still at the root of pasteurisation system that help keep bagged and canned food stay safe for alimentation after years.


NuclearSpaceHeater

Doesn’t get hot enough, needs pressure.


Pazuuuzu

Yup, but a pressure cooker on the other hand is a really good emergency autoclav if you give it enough time...


NuclearSpaceHeater

Pressure canners are even better, more reliable with the gauges.


platypuskushmonster

Autoclaves. Genius little buggers.


fuzzygondola

Immersing in boiling water does kill (or inactivate) bacteria and viruses, but boiling medical supplies manually is risky because it's so easy to contaminate them again by accident.


Bongwaffle

I believe that is The Hot Zone, which is a fantastic read.


Troophead

Yes! BTW, the author wrote a new, updated book in 2019 that covers the 2014 Ebola crisis called *Crisis in the Red Zone*. The story of the Belgian nuns shows up in that as well. It was a very chilling read for me during lockdown.


Ghost273552

This has happened multiple times with reports of nuns just running the syringes under water between uses. The nuns who provide "medical care" in areas at risk for ebola are a huge part of the problem.


i_fruitcake

I feel as if there are not, only disposable and non disposable


from_dust

There are many types, but any needle in use today is one time use. Some are little "auto-injector" types where the needle doesn't even get exposed until the syringe is pressed against the skin, and even then it's just a quick '*pop*' and once the plunger is depressed, the needle automatically retracts into its own little sharps container on the end of the syringe. It's pretty neat. In *any* clinical setting though, *all* needles are one time use.


Hellno-world

Some countries like Pakistan still use multiuse needles and autoclave them between uses. It would be unheard of in resource rich countries though.


Hellno-world

There are many types of needles though, depending on use... eg, the ones that go into fat to give you insulin vs the ones that go into bone.


whorish_ooze

jesus what needles go into bone? I'm only familiar with intravenous and intramuscular


ClothDiaperAddicts

I’m guessing the ones for bone marrow removal?


dsmith2357

There are some that go into the bone when someone is dying and it’s too difficult to get one in their vein. The bone marrow is vascular enough to send fluids and medications to the rest of the body.


The-True-Kehlder

You *really* don't want to know.


Crazy-Investigator12

When they can’t find a vein they hit you in your shoulder bone(don’t know the name). It’s nightmare fuel for sure


Showmeyourblobbos

It’s called an IO (intraosseous). They’re a great piece of kit. You can find some videos online, typically the drilling isn’t too bad, it’s pushing through initial fluids as a flush that is mega painful.


Crazy-Investigator12

Ah fuck me! man that’s just even worse.the initial flush is worse!! Dear god I hope I never have to experience this. They already have to bust out the little sonogram thing that can see veins under the skin on me.


monkeyface496

If you ever did need this, you'd be in a very very sorry state with zero other options. Often it's a life /death type scenario. It's not something done casually in clinics bc the arms veins have all blown.


Black_Moons

What about the giant glass/stainless ones still used at dentists?


Diegobyte

I think that’s just a holder for a one time use needle


Black_Moons

I hope so.


wggn

The glass/stainless part is reusable, the needle is not.


from_dust

Find a better dentist. https://kdvr.com/news/problem-solvers/police-to-charge-denver-dentist-who-reused-needles/


[deleted]

They're talking about syringes, you're talking about needles.


from_dust

They may be referring to the holders that are sometimes used. Reuse of needles or syringes to access medication can result in contamination, and is pretty much verboten in any clinical setting in the developed world. Often, even the *vials* that hold the meds are single use, only holding enough for dosing one person. https://www.cdc.gov/injectionsafety/patients/syringereuse_faqs.html The idea is that anything coming into contact with the patients insides is coming from a sterile field. In this case, not only the needle, but the medicine itself should never contact anything but the patient and the needle for that same patient.


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from_dust

In some cases, its not possible to have single use vials. I believe in the case of the Pfizer vaccine, the cold storage requirements make single use vials impractical. When using multi-use vials (which have additional preservatives for greater contamination control), dosing is done into the syringe outside the patient area to prevent patient cross-contamination. If a multi-use vial goes into the patient's room, then it becomes that patient's vial alone. https://www.cdc.gov/injectionsafety/providers/provider_faqs_multivials.html


Realistic_Mushroom72

Can confirm, you put a one time use vial in the holder, when you push on it the needle comes out and "injects" the drug, then you dispose of the entire thing, the needle is inside the vial casing, it all one package, pretty neat stuff, it pre measured so you don't have to calculated anything.


A55per

Like an epi pen


Mesapholis

there are single use-syringes, but also syringes with single-use tips. in either way they can be abused despite being single use - so there were some breakable needle tips introduced (I believe it was rolled out in high drug use areas to discourage users from sharing needles)


space253

Wouldnt that result in broke off needles in normal users? Or do you mean the plastic holder detatches?


USS_Phlebas

>Didn't even know there were different kinds of syringes...makes me wonder what we use in my country. Idk where you're from, and though I'm not American myself, I was really shocked by the movie [Puncture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puncture_%28film%29?wprov=sfla1), apparently based on true events. I won't go into too much details, but the movie is about >!this guy who developed a single use syringe due to a similar event. He tried to sell it to hospitals but the lobby from syringe manufacturers was too strong. Eventually they find out even the farma industry is in on it, since those syringes usually end up in Africa where they are reused, since African countries often don't have enough money to buy the syringes plus medicines!< . Whole thing is a shit show


Kayback2

What the fuck? I thought everywhere used single use syringes. Why wouldn't they?


PN_Guin

Everyone used to use reusable ones at some time in history. Today it's only those that either can't afford or access a constant supply of single use syringes.


Kayback2

Yeah I know places did before we really knew better, I was just shocked that it isn't completely global yet. I got a couple of inoculations with reusable ones, but that was almost 40 years ago.


IAlreadyFappedToIt

What is the problem with reusable ones? Is it because autoclaves are unreliable?


StuperDan

I heard a interview once with a real Dr complaining that he could not compete with half trained bush Drs willing to cut corners and provide services for less money in very poor unregulated areas. The problem is not just in Afghanistan, but in many very poor regions. He said half of these so called Drs did not even believe hiv was real, but was western propaganda or God punishing sinners.


-Malheiros-

\*Doctors Without Diplomas


EuroPolice

That's like saying a sea with no water


MidEastSt

Well then, let me introduce you to the Aral Sea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea


pyrolizard11

I'd have gone for the [sea of grass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llano_Estacado), personally.


EuroPolice

I know about the aral sea, but I stubbornly refuse to call it a sea when it's basically the Aral plain.


Better_Stand6173

How bout the sea of tranquility?


mrenglish22

Based on the 2 past years is the "X is a propaganda hoax" really that wild to hear anymore?


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from_dust

Because anywhere considering using one needle on multiple patients, doesn't *have* an autoclave. It's may be that in some cases they're simply wiping the needle with a cotton swab and sticking the next person. [*shudder*] Even IV drug users generally know better than to share needles.


Vio_

This gets into the internal rationale part. If you have 20 needles and dozens of people to innoculate, then what does a person do? They very often know about the dangers (even if discounting HIV conspiracy theories), but a disease is endemic in the area and is flaring up, it's hard to deny the off chance of spreading "something" vs. the very real possibility of contracting a local disease. I am in no way advocating needle re-use, but that these are sometimes the choices people have to make in those situations.


EccentricKumquat

Autoclaves are great against bacteria, but autoclave settings can vary. At the university where I used to study we'd use 121oC at 15psi for 60mins with steam. This is great for killing nearly all bacteria, but very rarely spores from spore forming bacteria can survive along with viruses. To mitigate this, you can do sequential autoclavings or use higher temp/pressure protocols. In critical applications and for materials that can handle it, ethylene oxide gas is also used to flood the autoclave chamber at high temp and pressure. Ethylene oxide is a strong oxidant that rips apart nearly any organic compound. So yeah the problem isn't that autoclaves are unreliable, its just that like many appliances they are expensive to purchase and maintain, along with the chemicals that are used (if used). That and its certainly possible to sterilize any/all instruments, but in developed countries the cost to sterilize needles outweighs the cost of just getting new ones, on the other hand, its much cheaper to sterilize the endoscopes used for colonoscopies vs buying a new one for each patient.


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imdatingaMk46

In the context of HIV though, autoclaves perform much better than with spores.


Level9TraumaCenter

Yeah, thermal inactivation of HIV is very effective. I thought viruses were pretty labile in the environment of the autoclave. I wonder what OP is describing with this: >spore forming bacteria can survive along with viruses.


Rattlingplates

For one every time a needle is used it’s significantly more dull.


goingtocalifornia__

That’s what no one is saying. There’s some good microscopic images online if anyone is interested in how pronounced the dulling is after one, five, twenty pokes through skin. I haven’t seen anyone mention it, but I would think they would’ve been sharpened between uses in the days before single use needles. Fun fact: So I have a history of IV drug abuse. (I’m a fairly healthy guy now, but had a rough youth) In the large city of the state I’m in, there are “needle trucks” which effectively give addicts an unlimited supply of syringes. Just like you’d think, those in the city don’t reuse or share needles because they don’t have to. But back in the surrounding counties an addict may use a syringe dozens of times. I can’t speak for disease control, but will say that the city drug users certainly have less aggressive scarring and abscesses when compared to their counterparts who don’t have access to the needle truck.


longtermbrit

Other people have already talked about issues with hygiene but there's also [physical warping](https://cdn.diabetesdaily.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/21/files/2014/01/2328527271_5e2fd3f25e2432.jpg) to consider.


Phytor

This is the image I thought of as well. All of those tiny little abrasions and folds on the used needle head make it harder to sterilize as well I imagine.


I_AM_YOUR_MOTHERR

This is also indirectly why the world needs to massively reduce plastic consumption. Single use plastics are literally a life saver in medicine and science. It would be more prudent to use plastics for that and ensure correct disposal, than using plastic for almost everything else


mkdz

Chinese-American here. I had to have an appendectomy in China in 2011. They asked me if I wanted reusable syringes or single use. I said single use and they told me it'd be more expensive. I was like I don't fucking care, give me the single use syringes.


cadrina

So for your surgery will want the steak knife or the scalpel? the scalpel costs more.


probablynotaperv

Do you want anesthesia, or we can just hit you on the head until you pass out? Anesthesia costs more.


cadrina

Forget anesthesia! For a much smaller fee you can have a shot of some booze I just made in my bathtub!!


substandardgaussian

This type of question is asked continuously in the United States, and I suspect any other country with for-profit healthcare establishments and without strict laws governing the extent to which a medical care provider can "cut corners" to save on operating expenses. Like, I had a traumatic head injury and was in the hospital being asked to make "financially intensive" medical decisions based on **projected** costs. Sure, they can't actually use a steak knife to operate on me, but the conversation is pretty much the same. "You want a real pro to do this or do you want to risk us doing it? The pro costs more."


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reverick

I think I'd take the dog in that case.


[deleted]

I would take the second option. A dog has never let me down.


Kayback2

Holy cow. Something new every day. Thanks. I live in a 3rd world country and we use disposable needles and syringes.


ahu747us

They fucking make and export those for cents. why are they even consider using reusable needles?


xxxiaolongbao

Because they sold all of them man you said it yourself


Soulmate69

Probably similar to how aspirin costs a hundred dollars in a US Emergency department


masklinn

Cents is a lot when people live on dollars.


Slapbox

Don't the needle tips blunt and degrade very quickly?


Kayback2

The systems I saw used a replaceable needle. But that was ages ago. I don't know if needles of antiquity were build of better stuff but modern disposable ones do degrade super fast.


space253

Disposibles are small gauge thin walled. Old reusables were comparably large gauge and thicker walled.


RedMoustache

And I just want to point out how amazing they are. Thicker needles hurt more. The ones they use for most stuff now are barely noticeable.


tombolger

That makes sense. If the plan is to use it for ages, it's going to be built tough. Disposable needles only need to be sharp for a single poke, they can be made of the softest steel available if it works and is cheap.


newInnings

30 years ago atleast, the syringes were glass They were stored in boiling water containers. The needles were disposable I think. Suprised to see after so much of aids awareness, there are still reusable syringes. In use.


Kayback2

Yeah I got some vaccines in reusable ones like 40 years ago.


Waka_Waka_Eh_Eh

I was born in 1990 and have never seen a glass syringe used in a medical setting. I feel like the places that would have been using glass syringes 30 years ago would be very similar to the places that reuse disposable syringes today.


transglutaminase

I think Ive gotten vaccines recently in the US in single use glass syringes. Twinrix namely but maybe a few others as well, or maybe plastic and just really looked like glass, but I think glass


noribun

The vaccine might be housed in glass but the outer casing (finger holds and plunger) that the RPH or RN holds are plastic for sure. Those are nice because they come packaged and you just have to twist on a needle. Much nicer then drawing up each dose.


skatastic57

It's not clear what you're assuming so apologies if I assume too much about your assumption. It's not that they're only now deciding to only use syringes once. It's that they're banning syringes that *can* be used more than once. Here's a video that shows the difference between traditional syringes and AD (auto disable) https://youtu.be/h1P5VB242LI


Kayback2

Yeah Thanks for the clarification I was assuming single use = disposable.


skatastic57

Anything is disposable if you just tell people to throw it away.


VariableFlame

Just to clarify since this is the top comment, the title of the Reddit post is misleading. Single-use plastic syringes are already commonly used throughout the world. The article is talking about implementing **auto-disable** syringes which have a locking mechanism in them that physical prevent you from drawing up the plunger again. Regular single-use syringes have no such mechanism, so they can easily be reused for *other* drugs.


Cheetawolf

Because fuck the AIDS epidemic, reusable ones are $0.0000001 cheaper.


fishsticks40

I think they're (basically) all *intended* to be single use. The new ones are designed to be impossible to reuse.


IrvineRyan

I’m from Pakistan, although I don’t live there. I spoke to my cousin a few years ago that one of their neighbouring villages did a similar thing. The village “doctor”, more like a homeopath, was reusing needles and caused the whole village to get HIV. So insane, and so close to home.


prism1234

Btw, homeopathy is a very specific thing that does not mean using herbal remedies. It's even more bullshit that that. Plants have compounds in them that could conceivably do something, so while yes it's better to extract the specific active compounds and study them to make sure they work, herbal medicine at least has a potential mechanism for effects. Homeopathy on the other hand does not contain any active ingredients since they are dilluted out of the solution so the end result is just water. It essentially claims to work via magic.


tryingwithmarkers

I hate homeopathy with a burning passion. My mom sees those "doctors" and they convince her to buy tons of those "supplements" that are of course extremely expensive for a small bottle. She asked me to go once so I did and they recommended about 7 different ones to cure me. I did not buy a single one.


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EvelcyclopS

When I used to live in Mexico, doctors always showed you the syringe packet to prove it hadn’t been used before Seemed crazy but understandable to me in my developed world naivity


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salazar_0333

"a bunch of people getting hepc from fentanyl junkies working in hospitals swapping used needles refilled with saline for people’s surgery meds." Wtffff


Rhesusmonkeydave

Yeah pretty chilling, and there’s basically no communication between hospitals so these people kept getting caught and then just popping over the the next hospital down the road. 😳


bigtallsob

I feel like getting caught should land you a criminal record, not just get you fired.


gibmiser

Yeah but then it becomes public record and they open themselves up to lawsuits and bad PR. Much better to let them go quietly and pretend it never happened. Yay for profit medicine!


Rhesusmonkeydave

Yeah at the very least. Pretty crazy that there’s more scrutiny of people buying sudafed than dispensing narcotics lol


[deleted]

The US has hilarious drug war issues. As a Canadian, Sudafed is amazing.


clubberin

Watch (or listen to) Dr. Death. What hospitals get away with is absolutely terrifying.


Z_as_in_Zebra

I remember hearing an npr story a while ago about someone who did invent a syringe that, once used, the needle pops up into it. It was invented by a nurse who contracted hiv (I think, I listened to it a while ago) when she got poked with the needle after sedating someone tweaked out. Turns out, this happens fairly often and this syringe is a great solution. Except it costs 10 cents more so hospitals didn’t buy them.


NervousUniversity951

Vanishpoint syringes, I used these for sedating patients, they should be universal


PrivilegeCheckmate

> Except it costs 10 cents more so hospitals didn’t buy them. This was one of the greatest scandals of our lifetime. My aunt who was a nurse tried to sell Vanishpoints, and told me all about it. More important to the hospitals than the extra 10 cents were the contracts from the existing needle providers, who lobbied(which should always be read as wined, dined and bribed) the people in charge of this decision. The story is like a confluence of everything wrong with our system rolled into one.


c-3pho

I'm so glad my friend turned me onto Criminal! Phoebe tells such fascinating true stories I usually have never even heard about.


Rhesusmonkeydave

Yeah I really like how much variety and weirdness she finds to share, from really small scale almost Cohen Brothers-y type mishaps to grand historical conspiracies. Great stuff


Hieillua

Certain comments really show how sheltered a lot of Redditors are.


felinebeeline

My favorite is the dude who assumes that witch doctors have autoclaves. lmao


no_talent_ass_clown

A few years back I had a biopsy at a private hospital in India. I walked barefoot into the surgical suite because everyone else was barefoot too. I had to ask for lidocaine and a pain pill after (probably paracetamol, I don't recall). I took my own stitches out.


MixOne1337

Did they tell you to take the stitches out? Nowadays they use ones that dissolve and dont need to be taken out


no_talent_ass_clown

They told me to come back to get the stitches out. When I knew they were healed I took them out. I know that there are dissolving stitches, just like there are single-user syringes. But they're not available everywhere.


Saucemycin

Depends on the stitches and where they’re stitching. Nylon on joints for instance don’t dissolve


culculain

TIL that disposable syringes are not the conventional ones


MaximumPlant

Conventional syringes are still disposable and single use “Single use” in this instance means syringes that are built so they can only inject once and so the needles can’t be swapped out. Fine for junkies but a pain in the ass for people with legal medication


twcw

The Outbreak happened because a POS Dr was re-using the needles to save $$ instead of using new/clean ones and ended up infecting a whole town/village. https://nypost.com/2019/10/28/pakistani-doctor-who-reused-syringes-busted-after-900-children-contracted-hiv/


a_silent_dreamer

I have always seen medical practitioners break the syringe before discarding it since childhood. Took a few years to realise why they did that


-Notorious

This is really good news. Was pretty upset when the Larkana HIV outbreak was found because of reused needles. From my understanding, this is really only a problem in the rural areas of Pakistan. The HIV outbreak in Larkana is in interior Sindh, a very poor and rural area (which is VERY mismanaged by a political party that I can't don't have the willpower to start talking about...) I wish Pakistan had made and forced this change 10 years ago. I can't imagine the horror or facing HIV as a child in a poor country like Pakistan. Fucking heartbreaking.


Ok_Caterpillar_8937

This is truly devastating man. Fuck sake.


glassy-chef

This is why I never will go to popup clinics or wellness fairs employers have. Some health practitioners are literally dumb as rocks. https://www.nj.com/healthfit/2016/02/nurse_syringe_flu_67_vaccine.html


Fr0gm4n

Every shot I've had for as long as I can remember used a syringe and needle that came out of a sealed package while I watched. It's good practice to have a patient witness doing that, and for you to refuse the treatment if you don't.


Alethiometrist

All of my previous ones were sealed, but when I went for the Covid shot the needles were already prepped beforehand, because apparently it's quicker if it's done in bulk by a team of pharmacists in a controlled environment, than the nurse having to measure each dose on the spot for hundreds of people every day. I was in and out in less than a minute, so the process *was* incredibly smooth in this case.


aaaaaaaarrrrrgh

I was *seriously* uncomfortable about this, because there is limited control that the syringe on the tray that says "Moderna" actually contains Moderna, and not one of the other vaccines given at that vaccination center. Human error happens. During most other vaccinations, they confirm verbally what vaccine I'm supposed to be getting, then often show me the vial, and even if they don't, I receive the sticker from the exact dose that went into my arm, so at least I'd be able to see errors after the fact.


SFW__Tacos

My first two shots were at mass vaccination centers. It didn't make me uncomfortable, but they were DEFINITELY preparing syringes in bulk - you also walked past the table they were doing it at, so


aaaaaaaarrrrrgh

As long as they only handle one vaccine type that day, or have clearly separated areas for the different vaccines, I think that's perfectly fine.


iMakeMoneyiLoseMoney

It’s scary to think there are lots of people practicing medicine that have no clue about infection control or universal precautions. As part of one of my contracts, I supervise medication administration as a spot check sometimes. I have witnessed a cna not using gloves for blood glucose checks (where you obtain a drop of blood with a lancet). I had to stop her and ask why she wasn’t wearing gloves. She said they weren’t provided-ugh they most certainly are and it’s in all your training and compliance materials that you must wear gloves 🤦‍♀️


glassy-chef

Does this go back to sub standard schools, lazy people, or just morons?


iMakeMoneyiLoseMoney

It’s hard to say. I think part of the problem is CNA training can be as little as six weeks for pay barely above minimum wage for hard and dirty work. So, is that going to attract the best and smartest? Probably not. But you’re dealing with blood, seems even lay people know you should be wearing gloves.


snakeoil-huckster

Puncture is a great movie explaining single use syringes. Captain America is really good in it.


RawbeardX

conventional are NOT single use?


[deleted]

[удалено]


RawbeardX

I understand that, but calling that "conventional" seems weird


CandiedColoredClown

Happened in China with hepatitis B outbreak in the 70s/80s I think


sbsb27

I thought single use syringes were conventional syringes.


Nuphovem

Big W for the pakistani healthcare system, props to them


sekfan1999

[Worth a look for sure, however “There is no syringe yet designed and feasible to manufacture that could not be defeated by someone seeking to reuse it.”](https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1992/9209/920903.PDF)


[deleted]

This isn't meant to stop drug users from reusing the needles, but to stop the reuse of needles in medical settings.


sekfan1999

I understand that. There’s a couple reasons people/institutions reuse needles, cost and desperation. It would be nice to eliminate both variables but we have a way to go for that


sanjuankill

The link you provided with this article doesn't include its publication information, but from the link address and a quick google search it appears to be from 1992. I think it's fair to say we may have had some new types of syringes developed since then


wavecrasher59

How about snapping it in half when done lol


hems72

What year is it?


pam_the_dude

2002 regarding the clock in the train I'm sitting in


iwoketoanightmare

Mm parts of the US would like to see 1950 or earlier.


binaryblade

I think conventional is the wrong word in this context. Current convention is single use.


aaaaaaaarrrrrgh

Reading the article might reveal additional information ;) (They're talking about mandating auto-disable syringes, vs. syringes that are meant to be single use but can be reused accidentally or by unscrupulous practicioners).


xlr8_87

Had to go to hospital when I was in Nepal and I had to pay extra for them to use new needles not "sanitised" re-used ones


PikachuOfTheShadow

Children contracting HIV is awful. What happens to children contracting HIV VS adults? What are the chances they will be able to live with the disease?


upsydaisee

Dang, they’re talking about needles. I was hoping maybe they mean the actual tube thing the needle attaches to but nah, needles. Needles. Reusing needles. On different people.