abuse from other parents

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Are they kidding? You could build sandcastles with my sharps box! It seems to me this woman is scaring folk, which is completely irresponsible. Would it be possible to arrange a 'Diabetes Awareness' evening at the school to clear up all the misunderstandings?
 
AlisonM said:
Are they kidding? You could build sandcastles with my sharps box! It seems to me this woman is scaring folk, which is completely irresponsible. Would it be possible to arrange a 'Diabetes Awareness' evening at the school to clear up all the misunderstandings?
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She probably wouldn't go though. She is a nurse after all and of course knows all there is to know about diabetes although we think she is a general nurse on a general adults ward so not only is she not a diabetes specialist she is not even paediatric !!!!
 
I never take a sharps box out with me, i don't usually take the needle off the pen though when I am out, if I do I just put it in my insulin case and dispose of it later.
Sorry to hear you have had to have this horrible experience.
 
Just to express an opinion from a slightly different angle... I had been qualified as a nurse for about 8 years when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged 30 years, and had cared for a few people with diabetes during my career, but hadn't done any nursing for over 1 year before diagnosis, and had only been working part time for 5 years before that, in all departments / wards etc, as I was trying to make a career with my newly acquired BSc Marine Biology. Things had moved on between my last experience of caring for anyone with diabetes and my own diagnosis, so I relied on the diabetes specialist nurse - and was sorely disappointed. I'd seen excellent specialist nurses in other fields, eg stoma care, breast care, children with tracheostomies, so, not unreasonably, expected straight answers to at least some of my questions, not, for example, a laugh, when I asked if I'd have to stay in hospital to start on insulin. I hadn't heard of basal bolus insulin regimes, so didn't know any different when I was put on bimodal insulin without any discussion about what would suit me. When I got some information from a pharmacist friend in Tasmania, I asked about changing, and things began to improve. As this was 1996, there was very little internet / email (basically only academics had email addresses), so I didn't have much opportunity to resarch myself, except by writing to insulin and blood glucose testing companies for information about their products.
These days, diabetes having made using Marine Biology degree even more difficult than before, I've had to go back into nursing, researching, and hopefully not being one of the very few ignorant / unfeeling nurses - but remember, diabetes is just one of many conditions, from the very common to the very rare, that nurses and medical professionals need to understand.
 
Adrienne said:
She probably wouldn't go though. She is a nurse after all and of course knows all there is to know about diabetes although we think she is a general nurse on a general adults ward so not only is she not a diabetes specialist she is not even paediatric !!!!
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but...this is worrying 'duty of care' and all that..whether a paediatric or not...
 
grahams mum said:
...does any of you have the sarp box with you all time i put graham needle in his special bag when we go out and i clear up every thing and refill for the next day usually in the late evening
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No, I dont even use mine at home most of the time! I dont think anybody would want to carry something bright yellow/orange around with them something that says "WARNING!! SHARPS! YOU WILL DIE!!" etc on it. You should have informed the nurse that you can't catch diabetes, don't worry 😉
 
Perhaps Graham could clip the sharp bits off his needles with a BD Safe Clip? It's not something anyone should do with someone else's needles, as there is a risk of needlestick injury, which could transmit blood borne viruses such as Hepatitis B or C or HIV. A Safe Clip is much smaller (about 7cm long, by 2 cm wide, by 1cm deep) than a sharps bin. Once the sharp bits are clipped off, the needle stubs can be carried in the insulin pen case. Alternatively, a 35mm film cannister is pocket sized, but not so secure, as lid can come off on purpose or by accident.
 
Copepod said:
- but remember, diabetes is just one of many conditions, from the very common to the very rare, that nurses and medical professionals need to understand.
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Hiya

I don't think the problem with this woman is the fact she is a rubbish nurse, we don't know that, she may be specialist in something or just general and be great, it doesn't matter, the fact that she said ' ooo she's got a dirty needle' is just horrendous from anyone but that she is a nurse on top of that is even worse than horrendous. 😡
 
Yes, it doesn't matter what kind of nurse she was. No nurse should be ignorant enough to say something like that. In fact, no person in general should be that ignorant!
 
I would report this 'nurse' to the nursing coucil for bringing the profession into disrepute.
 
right to fear used needles in many circumstances

Actually, any needle that has been inside anyone else should be regarded with suspicion - no-one knows the precise blood borne virus status of another person, which is why it's best for the person injected to dispose of their own needle (in the real open world) or for the person who gave the injection to dispose of sharps waste into a sharps bin as soon and close as possible.
The mother who objected was out of order in causing embarassment to Graham, but was right in teaching their own child to regard all used needles with suspicion - eg if they find a syringe and needle in bushes in a park, it is far more likely have been discarded by an intravenous drug abuser (more likely than general population to have Hep B / Hep C / HIV than general population) than it was used by someone who injected insulin, because such a person would have disposed of their needle safely, where it couldn't affect anyone else. They should have drawn the distinction between illegal and unsafe needle use and safe and essential insulin use.
 
I don't think anyone would argue that used needles are dangerous, but that woman started fussing before Graham's mum even had time to put the thing away safely. She did it in the most negative and embarassing fashion possible, humiliating Graham and his mum in the process. There are positive ways of dealing with such situations that do not involve scaremongering and a nurse should have known better.
 
I doubt this woman was trying to teach her son about the dangers of used needles. She was being plain ignorant.
 
katie said:
I doubt this woman was trying to teach her son about the dangers of used needles. She was being plain ignorant.
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i agree with you and thankyou for everybody support
 
What b***** planet is that nasty stupid woman living on?!! What kind of parent would even consider making such a nasty, snide comment out loud?! (or even thinking it?!!) How viciously insecure does she have to be to use someone else's kid's medical condition to score points?!

(I can't believe she was trying to educate her kid, sorry to be sceptical, but if that was the case & she a) really really felt she had to say something then & there (why?!) & b) had any kind of empathy AT ALL, surely she would say something more like, "isn't Graham brave having his injection? Remember, Fred (or whoever) you have to be really careful & not touch other people's medications because you don't want to break or lose them." and save any needle stick issues for later at home, where she wouldn't risk alienating, embaressing or humiliating the poor kid! This smacks to me of just plain nasty vicious ignorance - & she's a nurse?!! Scary.

As for the total C*** about sharps bins...presumably once Graham's injection was done, if his mum had had the chance all the kit would have been quietly tucked away into his bag, the other kids probably would not even have noticed, so the only way this MORON's kid was likely to get a needlestick injury would be if he was a light fingered theiving little sod rumaging through Graham's stuff - in which case serve him flippin well right!

Daniella - hold your head up high when you see this bint - you & Graham have no reason at all to accept the stupid notions that this silly cow has got in her thick head. She must be a very sad, lonely person with attitudes like that - who would want to be friends with someone so utterly cold hearted & bigoted?! Graham sounds amazingly mature, and a wonderful reflection on you - I will be so proud if my little lad is that sensible at 5!

This just reminds me of the rumpus when a new presenter called Cerrie started on CBeebies - she was born with only one hand, so the other ends just past her elbow. Unbelievably some parents had the gall to complain to the BBC, "in case" their kids were scared & they had to say something!!! I guess it just shows that there are just some totally nasty, ignorant people out there. Well, sod them. You've got the whole of this forum rooting for you! 🙂

Please don't let this silly, deranged muppet get you down, judging by Graham's reaction to all this, you're a million times the better parent at least! 😛
 
"The mother who objected was out of order in causing embarassment to Graham, but was right in teaching their own child to regard all used needles with suspicion" (post #52) - I think this shows that I did acknowledge she was out of order in her words / manner - but health professionals, those who handle waste materials, those who clear vegetation in parks and rough ground etc are right to be aware of risks from needlestick injuries - they are offered Hepatitis B vaccine for a reason, but there is no vaccine against Hepatitis C or HIV.
 
Hi, I read your post fully and still maintain my view "I doubt this woman was trying to teach her son about the dangers of used needles. She was being plain ignorant".
 
i spoke to a nurse and she said maybe she had a needlle injury in the past but is not my problem she should not have done that !!!
 
I totally agree that regarding needles on the ground, in waste etc, left lying around, "assume suspect" should definitely be the order of the day, and I would always caution my son against picking anything up that isn't his...including my own diabetes paraphernalia, & I know I've not got any nasties. 🙂

However I think in this context, with the needle in question still being safely in Graham's mother's hand, this mother/nurse's comments were inappropriate, insulting & inflammatory & I can only assume were intended as a put down rather than as any kind of sensible warning to her child. In front of the kid in question, in the middle of a kids' party is not the time nor the place to issue forth lectures on needle stick hazards really, is it? Maybe she has had a bad experience with needles in the past - and waiting to get test results back after a needle stick injury must be an extremely stressful & worrying time, but I still think she was using the subject as a weapon to be venomous - frankly I think as a person she's got bigger issues than needle stick phobia, but that's my opinion! 😱

I just think a little common sense, empathy & tact might have been better employed by the person issuing these remarks. (assuming they have a nice bone in their body that is!!)
 
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