This article is published from Insider's News, which is a magazine available in every NSW correctional centre.
Want to make sure you don’t get or pass on hep C or HIV? Flush your fit with FINCOL and water.
- Cold water. Draw up and flush; do this 3 times.
- FINCOL. Draw up and flush; do this 3 times.
- FINCOL. Soak the whole thing for 5 mins.
- Cold water. Draw up and flush; do this 3 times.
Sterilising equipment with this technique before and after use is your best protection. Use fresh FINCOL/water for each step. Do it as often as you can.
Using cool/cold FINCOL and water will clean blood from equipment. Do not use warm/hot FINCOL or water — it just sets blood hard and it stays put!
Sometimes FINCOL is made up with hot water and may come out of the dispenser warm if fresh. Wait for it to cool down before you use it. You can cool FINCOL yourself by placing a cup of it in a container of cold water. Water used for cleaning equipment should always be cold too, so use the cold tap.
Rinsing equipment with cool tap water helps remove blood that carries hep C and HIV. Your best protection is FINCOL. If using water alone, make sure it is cool (hot water will set the blood), then fill up the barrel as much as possible, then push out hard and fast. Repeat minimum 3 times, changing the water for each flush. Clean equipment immediately after it’s been used and between each user.