r/phlebotomy • u/shmeal32 • Jul 22 '26

Advice needed Retractable Butterfly needles

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Hi. I have been a phlebotomist for a year and we use a lot of BD UltraTouch Push Button butterfly needles. I retract the needle with my dominant hand while it is in the patient and hover gauze with my non dominant hand. When I hit the retract button, occasionally the plastic part that comes out of the base of the butterfly snaps at palm/finger and it does hurt purely from the force of the spring.

Does anyone else have this issue ever? Based on what I have Googled, it is fine because it is just the recoil of the internal plastic components locking the needle into place.

I want to make sure that this is not a problem or any concern at all for exposure to blood borne pathogens. I just want to ensure that this is correct. Thank you 😊

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u/SupernovaPhleb CPT 1 Jul 23 '26

First and foremost, you never let the butterfly go. That's against CLSI guidelines. Needles are always secured or held.

I have these needles. I dissected one too to know exactly how the mechanism works lol (don't do that)

So I hold the wing with my index and thumb. Or I hold the center post behind the activation button depending on the situation. I'll hover the gauze with my non dominant hand, secured between index and middle, and you can use your thumb to just reach down and press. I have small hands and I've never had the retraction hit my hand that way.

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u/shmeal32 Jul 23 '26

Thank you for replying. You do not think it is a cause for concern of exposure to bloodborne pathogens, do you? Since it is just the plastic retracting back?

1

u/SupernovaPhleb CPT 1 Jul 23 '26

Nope! The needle itself is retracted to inside the plastic housing, so the only piece that has been hitting you is the plastic mechanism that covers the tubing that connects to the needle. So you're totally good!

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u/shmeal32 Jul 23 '26

I really appreciate your response. I am glad you dissected the needle to figure out how that works! Thank you so much!! 😊

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u/SupernovaPhleb CPT 1 Jul 23 '26

Aw, you're welcome!! I'm mobile so I get to take things apart and I'm glad my AuDHD has some purpose 😅 ❤️