How to safely handle used needles, lancets.

You need to be extremely careful about the way you dispose of your used needles or lancets. Remember, a needle or lancet can pick up germs from any surface it touches. Anyone who handles a "dirty" needle or lancet and accidentally sticks the point into his skin is at risk for developing an infection.

To safely dispose of a needle, use a needle clipper (available at your medical supply store for $4-$5) to break the needle off your syringe and thus make the syringe unusable. (Don't try to break needles off on your own--you could accidentally stick yourself.) The needle clipper stores the clipped needle in a collection chamber, which can be tossed into the trash when it is …