There are a number of steps that should be understood in order
to complete a safe and proper intramuscular injection.
First of all, before handling any needles or vials, the user should take a
thorough shower. Next,an alcohol swab should be used to clean the injection
site and another alcohol swab should be used to clean the rubber stopper on
top of the vial which will be drawn from.
Then, take a brand new syringe out of its wrapper, remove its plastic top,
draw about 2 ccs of air into it and insert it into the vial. Inject this air into
the vial; this creates pressure within the vial and makes it easier to draw
out oil based preparations.Then, turn the vial upside down and slowly
draw out the oil until you\rquote ve overdrawn at least 1/4 cc.For example
,if someone was going to take a shot of 1 cc, they should pull out
approximately1 1/4 to 1 1/2 ccs of liquid, then tap the side of the case to
help get the air bubbles that were drawn into the syringe to come to the
top. At that point, the excess 1/4 to 1/2 cc could be injected back into the
vial and the needle removed. Then, hold the syringe needle-side up and
continue to tap it to encourage all the air bubbles to come to the top of the
syringe.
Now, take another clean syringe, remove it from its sterile package and
unscrew the needle from the syringe. Exchange the brand new needle for
the one that has just been injected into the stopper.By using two needles
for every injection, you can take advantage of using the full sharpness of
the pin.The needle does suffer some dulling when it is pushed through the
firm rubber stopper on a vial. It is important not to touch this needle before
the injection. It should not come into contact with a counter top, your fingers,
nor should it be cleaned with alcohol. This needle is sterile and should not be
touched.At this point, once again swab the injection site with alcohol, then
press the stopper of the syringe holding it needle-side-up, until the slight
air bubbles that are at the top are pressed out.
Once a bead of oil has appeared at the top of the needle, allow it run down
the surface of the needlewhich provides lubrication. At this time, take the
syringe and hold it like a dart. Use the other hand to stretch the skin at
the injection site and simply push the sharp clean needle in. After inserting
it deep into the muscle, pull back on the stopper for a few seconds to make
sure it does not fill up with blood which would indicate that the needle had
been injected into a blood vessel. Providing there is no blood present in the
syringe, slowly press the stopper down until all the oil is injected. Then,
quickly pull the needle out and take another alcohol swab and press firmly
on the injection site. This will minimize bleeding, if there is any, and by firmly
pressing on the injection site and slightly massaging it, some of the soreness
may be eliminated. It is important that the liquid is not injected too quickly
as this causes more pain at the site during the injection and in the proceeding
days. After this procedure has been completed,return the plastic caps to shield
the needles and make sure they are discarded properly. To avoid discomfort
and excessive scar tissue at the injection site, it is not wise to inject more than
2 ccs of solution per shot.It is also not prudent to use the same injection site
more than twice a week (once a week is preferred) .
