Although domestic medicine has undergone many reforms, it will not be able to reach the desired level soon. So, in megacities getting to the hospital is not a problem. But in small towns and villages - happiness, if there is at least an outpatient clinic, not to mention a pharmacy. So the ability to provide yourself with the simplest medical care today is important. Of course, complex manipulations such as droppers or intravenous injections should only be done by professionals. But absolutely everyone can learn how to do injections in the buttock correctly. So let's roll up our sleeves and try to master this simple but very important science.
Injection
This procedure is better known to us under the name injection. It is one of the ways to introduce liquid drugs into the human body. Although today there is already a technology for needleless injection (which cannot be called an injection), for many years to come, the traditional disposable syringe will remain the main tool for this manipulation.
There are many types of injections. Usually they are classified according to the injection site (intravenous, intraarterial, intraosseous, intramuscular, etc.) or the depth of immersion of the needle (intradermal, subcutaneous). Most of these procedures are done only in hospitals by experienced nurses and doctors.
Among the main advantages of an injection over other methods of drug delivery to the body is its speed. Of course, a lot depends on the injection site. So, an injection into a vein will act faster than an intramuscular injection (although not all drugs can be injected into the body with both of these methods at the same time). However, the latter, due to its simplicity, is the most popular.
Intramuscular injection
Hearing this name, the majority represents a banal injection into the loin. In fact, such injections are made not only in the gluteus maximus muscle, but also in others (deltoid, trapezius, quadriceps femoral and others, smaller).
However, the loin favorite part of the most popular. The fact is that she, like the quadriceps femoris muscle, is able to “take” a larger amount of the drug - 5-10 ml. While when injected into the deltoid and trapezius muscles, the volume of the drug should not exceed 1 ml.
How to determine where you need to stab
Having dealt with the theory briefly, we turn to practice. First of all, you should find out where to correctly inject into the buttock. Indeed, for people who are not particularly knowledgeable in anatomy (which most of us are), the name of the muscle says little.
So, in order to understand where to inject correctly, you should mentally (or with an iodine marker) divide each buttock into 4 squares. Entering the game is permissible only in the outer top of each of them. Why is that?
The fact is that these are the so-called safe zones. Important vessels that can be accidentally touched by a needle do not pass here. Since the spinal column is located in the region of the inner upper squares, and the sciatic nerve is in the lower inner ones.
What you can practice
Before you give your first injection to a person, you should practice on something less living.
In medical schools with a good material base, special mannequins or pads exist for this purpose. But for home self-taught as a first "experimental" suitable ordinary kitchen sponge. Preferably new.
Some advise practicing citrus fruits or meat. If these products are in your refrigerator, having given enough injections to a sponge, you can go to such "patients". By the way, it’s good to conduct such experiments before Easter. Then you can combine business with pleasure: use marinade as an injectable drug in a neck or loin. In this way, you can easily figure out how to give injections and pickle Easter ham!
What you need to prepare for injection at home
Before you learn how to properly inject into a muscle, you should consider the list of necessary for this procedure:
- Two to three component syringe. If you have a choice, it is better to take with an elastic band on the piston. Its presence ensures a smooth and uniform administration of the drug.
- Prescribed medicine. It can be either in ampoules or in powder form. In the second case, it will still need to be diluted with the appropriate liquid. As a rule, in all ampoule packages there are specialized nail files for opening them. Preparing everything for the injection, you should find them and put them next to the ampoule. In order not to search later.
- 96% medical alcohol or its pharmacy substitutes, as well as hydrogen peroxide. In extreme cases, the use of moonshine or vodka is acceptable, but not wine. However, if there is no extreme need, it is easier not to go for such extreme experiments.
- Vata.
- The patient is in a horizontal position.
- Confidence in the success of your medical endeavor. The use for its acquisition of some of the above antiseptics is not welcome.
Injection preparation
Having laid out on the table all of the above list, you can start the procedure:
- First of all, check the expiration dates of the syringe, alcohol and the medicine itself. As well as its compliance with the dosage indicated in the doctor's prescription.
- Next, wash your hands thoroughly with soap. Do not wipe them with a towel. Better just brush off.
- The next step is to prepare the medicine. If it is in an ampoule, gently tap on its tip. This is so that the whole drug moves to the lower part. The tip of the ampoule is rubbed with cotton moistened with antiseptic cotton. A file makes several movements in the groove between the upper and the main part. Having wrapped the tip with cotton, it should be broken off in the direction away from you. If everything is done correctly, it will not be difficult. And if it doesn’t work out, we take the nail file again and repeat the procedure. An open ampoule is placed nearby.
- We are preparing a syringe. To do this, open the package, put a needle on it. In this case, do not remove the cap from it. Often syringes are sold with needles already worn. This makes the task easier.
- Next, remove the cap and collect medicine from an open ampoule. To do this, the needle is lowered into the liquid, and the piston stretches toward itself. After the entire contents of the vial migrated into the syringe, excess air is released from it. To do this, it is turned upside down and gently pressed on the piston. This is done until drops of the drug appear on the tip of the needle and bubbles disappear from the fluid inside the syringe. Now everything is ready for the injection. If the patient is lying nearby, you can not put the cap on the needle, but proceed immediately with the injection. If for any reason it is necessary to delay it at least for a few minutes, it is better to put on a cap. This will help maintain sterility.
Not all drugs for intramuscular injection are packaged in ampoules. Some are in the form of a powder that must be diluted with water for injection, Lidocaine, Novocaine or similar fluids. Such solvents are usually sold in ampoules. While most powders are in small bottles with sealed rubber caps.
If you have to make an injection of just such a drug, you should use a syringe equipped with 2 needles. One of them is intended for mixing the medicine, the other - directly for the injection itself.
How to get the drug into the syringe in this case? Everything is simple. First, we collect the liquid from the ampoule in the same way as the medicine. But then a metal seal is removed from the powder bottle, and the rubber cap is wiped with an antiseptic. Then a needle is inserted into it and liquid is injected into the vial from the syringe. It is necessary to wait a few moments for it to completely dissolve the powder. If necessary, the mixture can be shaken. All this time, the needle and syringe remain stuck in the rubber cover. In the next step, the formed medicine is pumped back into the syringe. After that, the needle changes on it, and it is ready for injection.
How to make an injection
Although you can give an injection to a standing patient, it is preferable that he lay. Then it will be easier for him to relax. This will facilitate the whole process. This is especially important if you are just learning how to give injections.
Before pricking, you should choose a place in the aforementioned outer upper quarter of any of the buttocks. Ideally, it is necessary to palpate (mash), so as not to get into the seals if they remained after previous injections.
The next step is to wipe the selected place with an antiseptic. If this is not done, microbes can get into the tiny wound from the needle and cause infections or more serious consequences.
After this measure, the fingers are stretched with the fingers of the left hand, and the needle is inserted 3/4 of its length with a sharp movement perpendicularly with the right hand. Next, the drug is introduced smoothly. You should not do this quickly, otherwise a lump may occur.
When the contents of the syringe are introduced, it should be removed with the same clear, sharp movement. The injection site is covered with cotton wool moistened with antiseptic, and it remains there for a couple of minutes.
That's all, now you know how to do an injection in the buttock (see photo above).
Beginner Tips
When injecting for the first time, many are afraid to hurt the patient. Therefore, they can slowly insert / withdraw the needle. However, professionals who clearly know how to give injections correctly say that such a gentle technique does more harm. If you stretch the process, it will not become easier. On the contrary, the injection will be more palpable and painful.
If you have to make a series of injections, you should alternate the injection site. So, one day they give an injection in one buttock, another in another.
If, despite all the precautions, a bruise or bump appears after the injection, a swab dipped in a solution of magnesium sulfate, cabbage leaf or an iodine net can be applied to this place at night.
Slap Injection
After considering the classic way to inject intramuscularly into the buttock, it is important to discuss another popular method. This is the so-called slap. It is done in this way. Between the thumb and forefinger, a syringe is clamped at the place of attachment of the needle and injected in the manner of throwing a dart in a dart board. Only in this case, everything is accompanied by a slap on the buttock.
The advantage of this technique is the reduction in the pain of the injection, if any. After all, the slap acts as a distraction, and the pain from the administration of the drug decreases.
However, there is one big but significant minus. When performing such manipulations, the fingers come in contact with the needle, increasing the risk of infection in the wound. Of course, you can act like doctors — put on gloves. But with the habit of making an injection into them is not very convenient.
How to make an injection in the buttock to a child
For many, the birth of a baby is an incentive for mastering the ability to make injections. Preparing to give him injections if necessary, everyone is wondering if there is any difference with adults.
Yes, she is. But a little. Knowing in general how to give an injection (photo clearly demonstrates the process), you can apply this knowledge to children. The injection site and its methodology are identical. The only difference is that for the crumb, the skin before the needle is inserted should not be spread apart, but, on the contrary, put together. This is done so that the medicine does not fall under the skin, but into the muscle.
How to make injections in the buttock yourself
In the case of an injection to yourself, beloved, the most difficult thing is to overcome fear. Otherwise, the manipulation is carried out in the same way. True, you are unlikely to lie down. So it’s best to stand or sit in front of a mirror to see where you are stabbing. In the first case, you can even draw iodine the cherished goal, so as not to miss.
It is worth noting that as a test injection it is better for oneself not to take drugs, the introduction of which is associated with painful sensations. And the rest is pretty simple. The main thing in this matter is to strictly follow the instructions and not be afraid. Then everything will work out.