Hepatitis C preventative & safer injection practices
Safer injection practices can reduce risk for viral infections, skin and soft tissue infections, endocarditis and sepsis, and minimize vein damage.
All hepatitis preventative injection materials & practices are also HIV preventative, but the reverse is not true.
Many people who work with people who inject drugs are not familiar with the nuances of injection techniques, the details about the roles of injection equipment, and how different practices and substance use rituals may promote or jeopardize health and comfort. For example, do you know the pros and cons of spoons vs cookers vs pop cans? Which common material is often improperly used and may even increase hepatitis risk? How do different gauges and lengths of needles reduce damage and improve the experience, depending on the substance? Why might a person choose one injection location over another? Does it matter if the filter is cotton or fiberglass?
In this two-hour hands-on training, we will address these issues and more. This will improve capacity to provide realistic, respectful, believable harm reduction strategizing in collaboration with people who inject drugs.