Cytotoxic medications present real dangers to nurses who administer them

By Dewey Funk, UNA Occupational Health & Safety Advisor

“Cytotoxic.” The word itself speaks to the effects!

According to the medical dictionary, a cytotoxin is a substance that may or may not be an antibody, that inhibits or prevents the functions of cells, causes destruction of cells, or both.

Some nurses must work with cytotoxic medication on a daily basis. Most nurses who do never think about the impact cytotoxins could have on their health, or that of their family members.

Nurses who have contacted me after exposure to cytotoxic substances say they often saw no labelling on the cytotoxic medication, and they have not been informed of how to safely handle these substances.

Many questions immediately come to mind that nurses who work with these substances, or are concerned that they may be working with them, should ask:

• Is the cytotoxic medication you are required to handle properly labelled?
• Do you need to use personal protective equipment such as gloves, eye protection or respiratory protection?
• Do you know where to look up the side effects of the medication you are required to handle?
• Do you know the side effects this medication can have on you?
• Do you know where to look for information, or whom to ask?

Known side effects of cytotoxic substances include miscarriages, impacts on nursing infants and fertility problems in both women and men.

I receive phone calls from time to time from nurses who have come in contact with these substances.

As nurses, you are required to handle medication every day throughout your nursing career. Your professional orientation as a nurse is to think about the impact of these medications on your patients. But many nurses never think about whether the medications they are administering might have an impact on them and their loved ones.

Nurses often don’t think about side effects they may face because nurses view their principal role as helping sick people get better. They only think about themselves after that.

I am proposing that you develop a “Nurse First” attitude about these medicines – because the medications you are handling could make you the patient.

Ask about the side effects of the medications you are administering. Make sure the medications are labelled appropriately. Demand that the proper personal protective equipment is available. If this information isn’t available, speak up and tell your employer.

This is your right and responsibility in the workplace.

This article was also published in the latest issue of the UNA News Bulletin.