Monday, June 9, 2014

What You Need To Know About Sharps Disposal

By Kenya Campos


Health care is a very important part of the life of human beings. Each person is given only one body, and it is up to that person to use his or her body well. If one loves his or her body, then the body will love him or her back. Now, that is easier said than done. The lifestyle of most people today is potentially destructive to their well being. This is why there is also an increase of the number of patients that make their way to hospitals and other health institutions.

In every community, a hospital or any similar health center should be a permanent infrastructure. This is to assure that people will have easy access to most medical solutions in case of health related emergencies. The more people go in a medical facility, the more waste it will invariably produce. This particular output needs proper handling and sharps disposal nashville.

Waste comes with every activity. But, the kind that the medical field produces is on an entirely different level that the usual. It requires utmost care in management and disposal. If not disposed of properly, this can result to adverse effects that can potentially harm anything that will be affected.

There are very many types of medical waste. Like every other infrastructure, hospitals also produce solid waste. Solid waste includes plastic, food wrappers, leftovers, boxes, and other usual garbage that are thrown by other establishments everyday. They are stored in black bags just like any other trash, too.

Since hospitals have a huge stock of medications, it is unsurprising to note that pharmaceutical waste is another category. It is further subdivided into two parts, the hazardous and the non hazardous types. They include generic drugs and over the counter medications. The hazardous types are those that have toxic substances such as mercury, xylene, other solvents, and agents used in chemotherapy sessions.

Regulated Medical Waste is also known as red bag waste because they are disposed in trash bags of a similar color. This is the most sensitive residue that any medical establishment can ever produce. This bag mostly contains vaginal speculum, swabs stained with blood or other bodily fluids, gloves contaminated with body fluids including blood and fecal material, expired drugs and vaccines.

Used urine cups after urine sampling also goes into the red bag. Pregnancy tests and other items that come in contact with body fluids are all classified as RMW. Syringes and injection devices, blades, and contaminated glass are placed in securely disposable container that is for the exclusive disposal of sharps. This container also goes into the red bag, along all the other RMWs.

The disposal of such extremely harmful waste follows a certain set of strict guidelines and even stricter regulations. If they are not dispatched correctly, they can cause harm to any people or animals that can get across them. They are possible havens of infective strains like HIV, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis B.

Most hospitals hire professional disposal units. This is to ensure the safety of the people that can come in close contact with medical by products. These experts handle and dispose of the said trash properly to avoid complications and hazardous pollutions in the environment.




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