This information will help you learn how to give yourself a subcutaneous injection (shot) using a prefilled syringe. A subcutaneous injection is an injection that is given under the skin. A pre-filled syringe is a syringe that is sold with medication already inside.
Your healthcare provider will show you how to give the injection yourself. You can use the information in this resource as a reminder when you give the injection at home.
to come back to the beginning
Reasons for air getting in when injecting into a muscle
During an injection into the muscle, air bubbles enter there along with the solution from the syringe. But how do they get into the syringe? A syringe and a needle are hollow objects, and, one way or another, there is air in them. It is also present in ampoules with medicinal powder or ready-made solution for injection. When preparing the solution and drawing it into the syringe, air bubbles inevitably get inside. Before administering the injection, the healthcare worker is obliged to get rid of most of the air (it’s impossible to remove absolutely all of it anyway - laws of physics). This is done by small manipulations with syringes and releasing a small dose of the drug. Only after this can the patient be given an injection.
The safety rules specify what danger air can pose after entering the vessels and cells of the body. The terrible words “fatal outcome” and “embolism” refer only to injections into venous vessels and the formation of blockages as a result of air entering them. And we are talking about a large air bubble - 200 ml, for children - from 70 ml. It is very difficult to do this by accident, given the volume. And small bubbles have time to dissolve in the blood vessels and will not harm a person in any way.
Absolute ban
Nevskie News / Anastasia Barashkova
Currently, only adults are vaccinated against coronavirus in Russia. The idea of mass vaccination of adolescents is being developed in full swing; last summer even the first studies of Sputnik V among minors were carried out. However, today injections are given only to people over 18 years of age.
A permanent medical exemption from vaccination with Sputnik V, as well as other Russian vaccines, can be issued to patients with hypersensitivity to the components of the drug. In addition, the injection is prohibited for people with a history of severe allergic reactions.
It is prohibited to vaccinate against covid for nursing mothers. If you can forget about vaccination during breastfeeding, then this rule does not apply during pregnancy - you just need to follow a number of instructions.
Consequences of air entering a muscle when injecting
In the case of air getting in during an intramuscular injection, it is enough to remember that only an air injection into a vein can pose a danger to your life, and then in an amount of 70-200 ml (70-200 “cubes”), and this is a lot. An intramuscular injection with air, most likely, cannot even be distinguished from a correct injection. Air bubbles gradually dissolve in the cells and do not cause deterioration in health. In the worst case scenario, the patient will note at the injection site:
- Soreness;
- Burning;
- Formation of hematoma (bruise);
- Compaction, which can lead to the formation of abscesses and abscesses (here the problem is more in the sterility of the needle than in the air itself);
- If during an injection the needle touches a vessel, then the air can block the flow part and form a slight necrosis.
How is air removed correctly?
The rules for administering an injection are the same for everyone. That is why absolutely every medical worker is obliged to remove air from the medical device before injection. Let’s look at how exactly this is done a little further.
- From a syringe (for intramuscular, intravenous or subcutaneous injection). After drawing the medicine, the syringe is raised vertically with the needle up, and then the nurse makes light clicks on its body, thereby knocking all the bubbles together (into one air pocket). Then, by gently pressing the piston, the air is squeezed out. In this case, you should definitely release some of the drug, along with which all the remaining bubbles will go away.
- From IVs. Before inserting the system into the patient, medical staff perform all the same actions as with a syringe before an injection. By the way, if the liquid in the dropper runs out before the nurse removes the needle from the patient’s vein, then the air will not enter the human body in any case, since there is simply not enough pressure in the system for this.
- From complex medical devices. In such devices, where a sufficient amount of air can accumulate to cause death, there are special filters that automatically remove absolutely all existing bubbles.
Symptoms of air entering a muscle when injected
If during the injection you did not notice or see air bubbles in the syringe, how can you know if they have entered the soft tissues? If there were few of them, and they managed to all dissolve in the tissue cells, then you would never guess about it. But if something goes “wrong”, the body will notify you:
- The medicine (solution) under the pressure of the air bubble actively comes out from the injection site;
- A hematoma and compaction appears at the injection site, pain when pressed;
- An abscess develops, which becomes an open abscess, or the patient may require the help of a surgeon.
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“Flew off” after the first injection
Nevskie News / Anastasia Barashkova
Not all patients can reach the second phase of Sputnik V vaccination. If the introduction of the first component of the drug led to a severe post-vaccination complication, the second injection will be prohibited.
Contraindications for the second injection:
- anaphylactic shock;
- severe generalized allergic reactions;
- convulsive syndrome;
- temperature above 40 degrees.
In some cases, the doctor may prescribe a full course of vaccination with another drug. However, re-vaccination with EpiVacCorona, CoviVac or other vaccines can be done at least three months after an unsuccessful injection.
What to do if air gets into a muscle when injecting
Calm, just calm - this advice was given to us by a famous cartoon character and he was absolutely right. A sober outlook and lack of panic is the key to any success. In the case of air getting in during an intramuscular injection, it is enough to remember that only an air injection into a vein, and then in the amount of two hundred cubes, can pose a danger to your life. Such large injections are rarely given, no matter what therapy is prescribed to you, and it is simply unrealistic not to notice such an amount of air in the syringe.
An intramuscular injection with air, most likely, cannot even be distinguished from a correct injection. Air bubbles will gradually dissolve in the cells and will not cause any particular deterioration in health. You should not rub this place vigorously, apply a heating pad or ice to it, or, on the advice of your grandmother, cabbage leaves or burdock leaves from your garden plot.
No special measures or actions need to be taken if air gets into the muscle during an injection. But it would be a good idea to seek medical advice if a hematoma or suppuration (infection) has formed at the injection site and you feel severe pain (nerves are damaged) at the injection site.
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What infections can be transmitted to a child through a needle stick?
Fast passage
How to prevent hepatitis B? How to prevent hepatitis C? How to prevent HIV?
If the person who previously used this needle has hepatitis B
,
hepatitis C
or
HIV infection
, there is a small chance that a child who pricks himself with the same needle will become infected with it.
However, it should immediately be noted that the risks of contracting these infections in this way are extremely small. The most persistent pathogen in the environment (of these three) is hepatitis B, which also requires a minimum amount of infectious blood for infection - this is why all children in our country are offered (and most are given) a vaccine against hepatitis B in the first six months of life. The vaccine is close to 100% effective even with a transfusion of contaminated blood, especially since it will protect with a tiny injection. Hepatitis C viruses and human immunodeficiency viruses are unstable in the external environment, they usually die quickly when the syringe dries out, and if the syringe looks stale, most likely the infection in it has long since died.
There is also a small chance of contracting tetanus from a syringe lying on the ground. Again, if the child is vaccinated in a timely manner, this risk is finally reduced to zero, but if the vaccinations were not administered in full, you should discuss tactics with your pediatrician.
Preventive measures
One of the consequences of an incorrectly placed injection, even into a muscle, is death. Although, in this case, it is not the air that is to blame, this does not mean that you should not adhere to the rules for giving injections.
Everyone who picks up a syringe must remember: in the case of injections into a vein, an air bubble accidentally entering the vessel provokes an air embolism and the risk of developing a heart attack and stroke. Getting air into a muscle can result in a maximum of inflammation and an abscess, but these two conditions cannot be called pleasant.
To make an intramuscular injection correctly and prevent air bubbles from getting into the soft tissues, you need to follow the instructions:
- Make sure that when the medicine is drawn into the solution syringe, the needle is not in the air gap of the ampoule, and air is not drawn into it during the process;
- It is necessary to draw up the drug slowly, in good lighting;
- Lightly tap the filled syringe with your finger on the walls so that small bubbles rise to the base of the needle;
- Press the piston, allowing air and the first portion (stream) of the medicine mixed with air bubbles to escape through the needle hole.
This way it will be possible to minimize the amount of air in the medicine during intramuscular injections.
Actions in case of air bubbles from a dropper or syringe
After selecting the drug for injection, specialists release the air from the syringe. That is why its bubbles rarely enter the veins.
When the dropper is made and the solution in it runs out, the patient begins to worry that air may get into the vein. However, doctors say this is impossible. This is justified by the fact that before this therapeutic manipulation, air is removed, as in the case of an injection.
In addition, the drug's pressure is not as high as arterial pressure, which prevents gas bubbles from entering the vein.
If air enters a vein through an IV or injection, the patient requires medical attention. Usually specialists immediately notice what happened and take the necessary measures to prevent the risk of dangerous consequences.
In case of ingestion of excessive amounts of bubbles and severe air embolism, treatment is carried out in a hospital setting.
The following measures can be taken:
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, during which chest compressions and artificial respiration are performed, is necessary in case of circulatory problems.
After treatment for an air embolism, you will be monitored by your doctor for a while. This is necessary to avoid health risks.
How to prevent HIV?
Unless your child has had someone else's blood injected from a syringe through a needle, there is little risk of contracting HIV from this injury. However, if a child has factors that increase the risk of infection (see above), the doctor can refer the child to the AIDS Center in your city, where he will be prescribed and given a free preventive course of antiretroviral drugs, the duration of such preventive treatment is usually 1– 3 months.
To make sure your child is not infected, your doctor will discuss with you when your child will need to be tested for HIV. Typically, an ELISA test for HIV antibodies in such a situation is taken twice, after 6 weeks and after 3–12 months.
Can the doctor run tests right away to determine if my baby is infected?
Blood tests taken immediately after the injury will not show whether your child is infected. In order for laboratory test systems to be able to detect a virus in a child’s blood, it is necessary that there is a sufficient amount of virus in the blood, or that the body has produced a lot of antibodies to this virus - only then will we be able to recognize them by analysis. Your doctor can check for infection by doing blood tests at about 6 weeks, and again 3 months or more after the injury. For these tests, it is important to return to your doctor within these times. Examining the syringe itself, especially after your child’s blood has come into contact with it, is futile.
