1. The meaning and types of safety syringes

Acupuncture injuries are common among medical staff and pose a unique and serious health threat. These injuries can expose workers to fatal blood-borne diseases, and the design of the safety syringe can prevent these types of injuries. Use a plastic protective cover to wrap the needle on the used safety syringe so that workers can avoid the threat of needle sticks when transporting or discarding the syringe. The safety syringe is mainly of conventional size, mainly used for drawing blood and medicine injecting. They are also generally more expensive than traditional syringes.

2. Classification and evolution of safety syringes

Safety syringes are divided into the following types according to the different handling methods required by the use: retractable safety syringes, ring-type safety syringes, safety syringes with safety shields, and safety syringes with a breakable push rod.

Safety syringes and ordinary syringes have the same basic structure, including needle, needle hub, barrel and plunger.

The safety syringe with a safety shield is the first and most common one. The most significant difference between it and the standard syringe is the existence of the plastic protective cover. The protective cover surrounds the needle and locks it in place after using the needle. Most safety syringes also include a plastic sheath that can be opened and closed. This allows safe transportation and storage of the syringe during patient care.

Due to the inclusion of an additional plastic safety cover, these types of syringes are usually more expensive. As healthcare providers seek innovative ways to reduce costs, efforts to improve the design of the safety syringe and reduce its overall cost have led to the development of new innovations in the device. A retractable safety syringe came into being. Retractable safety syringes can provide a viable alternative to sheath-type syringes.

The retractable safety syringe can withdraw the needle and the needle seat back into the needle tube after use, the used needle is not exposed and locked in the needle tube, and then the plunger can be broken off. This can prevent needle stick injuries and prevent the syringe from being used again.

With further development and the actualization of needs, two other safety syringes were born. They have a common name: auto disable syringe. Both the auto-disable syringes with circlip lock and the push rod breaking self-destructing syringe can destroy or jam the plunger after use, mainly to prevent the syringe from being used again.

As these tools become more common in the health care environment, the job safety of health care workers is also improving. Although safety syringes help protect medical staff from needle stick injuries, these devices cannot prevent all of these injuries. Standardized operation and correct and timely disposal of waste are also particularly important and cannot be ignored.