Paranoid about dirty needles in hospital

[Siu1]

Don't know if it's due to being pregnant but I have become increasingly paranoid about everything - to an extent sometime I dont know what's real and what's just in my mind. Recently I have developed a paranoia about hospital and dirty needles. When I go in for a blood test I usually look away when the nurse/phlebotomist prepare the equipments because it makes me nervous - because of this I dont see them opening the packagings etc so it makes my paranoia worst. I keep telling myself that there's no way the NHS would reuse their needles right? I spoke to my midwife about my paranoia thoughts as it got so bad and she said all needles are single use only.

I've had oodles of blood tests and they wear gloves, use new needles and dispose of them asap in one of their yellow bins with slots. No reason to be paranoid at all.

yes, IME all needles are in those single use packets (and i[ve had an awful lot of blood taken over the years!)
but that doesn't help does it, because you already KNOW that anyway

I would say speak to your GP about your anxiety, if it's getting in the way of you having a happy pregnancy and a normal day-to-day life then your GP could refer you to someone to talk through it all or possibly prescribe you something that will help, I am certain there are things you can take during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding

As a doctor in the NHS I can assure you that all needles are freshly removed from their sterile packs just before use on a single patient, then binned securely immediately afterwards. If you are nervous ask your midwife/doctor to open them in front of you and show you them going in the yellow sharps bin afterwards. I would certainly be happy to accommodate an anxious patient's wishes. Hospitals and clinics are now VERY careful with keeping everything sterile and you have the right to ask staff to wash their hands again if you aren't sure they have done it before touching you.

If these things don't help I would speak to your GP or midwife about counselling if you are finding anxieties/paranoia overwhelming.

Single use needles as Kiitykatzen says.

The culture now is to discard them before you leave the immediate vicinity, i.e. it's not acceptable to go off for a few minutes and then come back to them to discard them.
If you "contaminate" a needle by touching another surface with it (ie it falls out of the open packet onto a non sterile surface) one tends to discard it now too.

Reusing a needle on another patient would never ever be considered acceptable.

Needles are single use only, and then get put into a sharps box for safe disposal.

But I second Kitty about speaking to your GP about your anxieties and about not knowing what is real anymore.

Goodness me, I honestly can't think of anything less likely to happen than re-using a sharp. It's not about the needles is it, really, I would speak to your GP.

Thank you all for replying. Don't know what is causing all these horrible thoughts.
I have spoken to my midwife and gp about my paranoia and I have been referred to get some counselling and therapy.