Two young lads have suffered near-miss sharps exposures in separate incidents in the UK, in each case while enjoying an outing to play in the park.
In Maidenhead, a nine-year-old boy had a lucky escape after picking up a used needle while playing innocently in a park. He was enjoying a family trip to Boyn Grove Park on Monday when he made the shocking discovery while playing in an overgrown wooded area of the park
he returned from the bushes with the needle, to the horror of mum and dad. “I was actually terrified for him,” said mum. “At first we thought it was just a pencil.” Unaware of what he had picked up, he was quickly told to drop the needle which he had found alongside a pile of empty beer and wine bottles.
“The first thing we did was to make sure his hands were all OK and there was no break of the skin,” said mum.
The mum-of-two regularly visits the park with her two sons, and now wants to warn parents to be more careful when letting their children play in open spaces. She is also calling on the council to take more action to thoroughly clean parks of any dangerous debris.
“Those responsible for leaving behind these hazardous objects are thoughtless and show no consideration for the safety of the public and their use of open spaces,” she added.
A spokesman from the council said it took the issues of people finding needles ‘extremely seriously’ and urged anyone who made an unwanted discovery to contact the council immediately.
http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/News/Areas/Maidenhead/Warning-after-boy-9-picks-up-used-needle-at-park-28082013.htm
And in an unrelated incident, an unfortunate 9-year-old boy pricked his finger on discarded needle at Castle Hill, Huddersfield.
The lad was playing with his little brother and cousins near Jubilee Tower in Huddersfield. As he was picking up stones from beneath a tree he was jabbed by the needle, causing his thumb to bleed.
Thinking he would get into trouble, the boy at first said he’d cut his thumb on a tree branch but then admitted what had happened. The family had the forethought to collect the needle and took him to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
He had a blood test to check for infections but must wait three months for the results. The hospital started him on a course of injections for hepatitis B as a precaution.
“He had the first hepatitis injection at the hospital, which was pretty unpleasant, and he has to have another in a couple of weeks and then a third in three months.”
So, the poor lad has 3 painful injections, and still bears the risk of Hepatitis C infection or HIV, and will no doubt pick up on the inevitable distress of his parents and relatives who will face many months of anguish and who will, no doubt, watch him like a hawk for years to come.
Good luck to them all.