Doctor:

I went to get blood drawn from a lab. I was so nervous I wasnt even thinking straight. The lady who took my blood touched the site of the stick to find the vain. She had no gloves on! She opened the package with the tube and needle in front of me without gloves. The needle was covered by a plastic sheild. She did not remove that sheild untill she finally put gloves on.

Could part of that needle have been exposed when it was covered? Could she have touched an infected counter top before she had touched my arm? I am so worried about Hep B, C and Hiv. I am also very conered about getting sepsis from this. She did not even use iodine to clean the area, just a sterile wipe. How worried should I be right now?? It's eating me up inside...

I would not be worried at all.

Sometimes if it is difficult to feel a vein, a phlebotomist will first feel for the vein with an ungloved finger. This is not a concern for a simple blood draw. Also an alcohol wipe is all that is needed to prep the area of skin.

The situation would be much different for a more invasive test. However, for taking a simple blood test, there was nothing unusual here.