You may want to lay down a sterile paper liner or a clean paper towel beforehand for ease of clean-up. Set out your tools in the order you’ll use them in. For example, set your alcohol wipes closest to you, followed by the medicine, the syringe and needle, then, finally, cotton balls and/or bandages.
To minimize the chance of your gloves getting contaminated, wait to put them on until right before you deliver the injection.
Also, make sure your syringe is large enough to accommodate your dose and that you have enough medicine to give a full dose. Call your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions about the dosage.
Pick a spot that is at least 1 inch (2. 54 cm) from the location of your last injection, especially if you receive frequent injections. This safety practice is called “rotation”. Rotation is done to avoid complications such as bruising or lipodystrophy (a condition where the skin becomes lumpy or misshapen at the site of repeated injections).
After wiping the top of the vial with alcohol, allow it to air dry for a few seconds.
This is a good time to double check the name on the bottle, the patient’s name, and the dosage. If your syringe doesn’t come with the needle attached, you may need to gently insert and/or screw the needle onto the end of the syringe. Do this before removing the needle’s cap.
This is important because you won’t be able to draw any medication from the vial unless you pump air into it first.
Adding air to the vial serves an important purpose. By putting air in the vial, you increase the air pressure in the vial, which will make it possible and easier to draw the correct dose because the extra air helps “push” the liquid out. Although this is standard practice with most injections, it’s not necessary with insulin or heparin.
When you’re done, take the needle out of the vial. Set the vial aside for future doses or dispose of it in a proper medical waste receptacle.
Check to make sure there’s enough medicine left for a full dose after aspiration. It’s easy to expel too much medication, especially with a small injection like an insulin shot. If you have to, go back and add a little more, then repeat the process. The tiny amount of air that can get trapped in a syringe is not large enough to cause serious harm if it is injected into the patient’s body by accident. A trapped bubble injected under the skin could cause bruising, however.
If you’re doing an SQ shot and your patient does not have a lot of body fat, make sure to gently pinch the skin and hold it away from the muscle before delivering the shot.
To get the timing right, try counting to 3. Start injecting on 1, then count out 2 and 3 as you push in the plunger the rest of the way.
Once you’ve delivered the injection, the needle is dirty and is considered a biohazard. Handle the used needle carefully, since this is the part of the process where most accidental needle sticks occur. After you remove the needle and throw it away, apply gentle pressure to the injection site with a clean cotton ball.
If you don’t have a specially marked “sharps bin” or a sharps disposal program in your area, you can safely dispose of your used needles in sturdy container with a lid, such as a milk jug or detergent bottle. Tape the lid on before placing the container in your garbage. [5] X Research source In many areas, you can dispose of your sharps bin at a pharmacy.
