How to give injections in the buttock correctly. How to give injections in the buttock correctly and painlessly

It happens that you need to get an injection, but there is no doctor nearby. And you have to turn to relatives and those who are nearby. There are craftsmen who can inject themselves, but this is not a very good idea, if only because it is inconvenient. It is better to give instructions to a person who is ready to help with the procedure.

Step 1: Prepare everything you need

Soap. Not necessarily antibacterial.

Towel. It should be clean, or better yet, disposable.

Plate. You will need to put all the tools on it. At home it is difficult to disinfect the table surface, for example, so you have to work from a plate. It must be washed with soap and wiped with an antiseptic - an alcohol wipe or cotton wool with alcohol or chlorhexidine.

Gloves. At home, gloves are often neglected, but in vain. Since there is no question of any sterility here, gloves are especially needed to protect both the patient and the person giving the injection from the transmission of infections.

Syringes. The volume of the syringe must correspond to the volume of the medicine. If the medicine needs to be diluted, then keep in mind that it is better to take a larger syringe.

Needles. They will be needed if the medicine needs to be diluted. For example, if a dry drug is sold in an ampoule with a rubber cap, then it is diluted as follows:

The solvent is drawn into the syringe.
The rubber cap is pierced with a needle and the solvent is released into the ampoule.
Shake the ampoule without removing the needle to dissolve the medicine.
Draw the solution back into the syringe.

After this, the needle must be changed, because the one that has already pierced the rubber cap is not suitable for an injection: it is not sharp enough.

Antiseptic or alcohol wipes. You need 70% alcohol, an antiseptic based on it, or chlorhexidine. For home use, it is best to use disposable alcohol wipes, which are sold at any pharmacy.

Place for trash. You will have to put waste material somewhere: packaging, lids, napkins. It’s better to immediately throw them into a separate box, basket, or wherever is convenient for you, so that it all doesn’t end up on a plate with clean tools.

Step 2: Learn to wash your hands

You will have to wash your hands three times: before collecting the instruments, before the injection and after the procedure. If it seems like a lot, it does.

Lifehacker wrote about how to properly wash your hands. This one has all the basic moves, but add a couple more to them: lather each finger on both hands and your wrists separately.

Step 3: Prepare the area

Choose a convenient place so that you can place a plate with tools and easily reach it. Another mandatory attribute is good lighting.

It does not matter how the person receiving the injection is positioned. He can stand or lie down, whichever is more comfortable for him. But the one who injects should also be comfortable so that his hands do not shake and he does not have to jerk the needle during the injection. So choose a position that suits everyone.

If you are afraid of injecting in the wrong place, before the procedure, draw a hefty cross directly on your buttock.

First, draw a vertical line in the middle of the buttock, then a horizontal one. The upper outer corner is where you can stab. If you're still scared, draw a circle in this corner. For artistic painting, at least an old lipstick or cosmetic pencil is suitable, just make sure that particles of these products do not get on the injection site.

While the patient lies and is afraid, we begin the procedure.

Step 4: Do everything in order

Wash your hands and plate.
Treat your hands and plate with antiseptic. Throw away the cotton wool or napkin immediately after processing.
Open five alcohol wipes or make as many cotton balls with antiseptic. Place them on a plate.
Take out the medicine ampoule and syringe, but do not open them yet.
Wash your hands.
Put on gloves and treat them with antiseptic.
Take the ampoule with the medicine, treat it with an antiseptic and open it. Place the ampoule on a plate.
Open the package with the syringe.
Open the needle and draw the medicine into the syringe.
Turn the syringe with the needle up and release the air.
Treat the patient's buttock with an alcohol or antiseptic wipe. First - a large area. Then take another napkin and wipe the place where you will inject. Movements for processing - from the center to the periphery or from bottom to top, in one direction.
Take the syringe in a way that is convenient for you. The needle should be perpendicular to the skin. Insert the needle in one motion. There is no need to push it all the way so as not to break it: 0.5–1 cm should remain outside.
Administer the medicine. Take your time, make sure that the syringe and needle do not dangle or twitch. You can hold the syringe with one hand and press the plunger with the other.
Take the last alcohol wipe or cotton wool, place it next to the injection site and in one motion, pull out the needle to quickly apply pressure to the wound.
Don't rub anything with the napkin, just press and hold.
Throw away used tools.
Wash your hands.

If the injection is painful, inject the medicine slowly. It seems that the faster, the sooner a person will be exhausted, but in fact, a slow introduction is more comfortable. Average speed - 1 ml in 10 seconds.

Don’t be afraid to treat the ampoule, hands or skin with an antiseptic once again. Here it is better to overwork than to underwork.

If you need to change needles after drawing up medication, do not remove the cap from the new one until you install it on the syringe. Otherwise, you can inject yourself. For the same reason, never try to cap a needle if you have already removed it.

If you don't know how hard to stick a needle, at least practice on chicken fillet. Just to understand that it's not scary.

When to give an injection without specialists

If the drug was not prescribed by a doctor. In general, there is no need to engage in self-medication, much less injections, even if for some reason you want to “inject some vitamins.” The drug, its dosage, how to dilute it - all this is determined by the doctor, and only he.
If the patient has never taken this drug before. Many medications have side effects and can cause unwanted reactions. Medicines that are administered through injections enter the blood faster, so reactions to them appear quickly and strongly. Therefore, it is better to do the first injection in a medical facility and not rush to run away from there, but wait 5-10 minutes so that everything is in order. If something goes wrong, the clinic will help, but at home you may not be able to cope.
When you have the opportunity to use the services of doctors, but don’t want to. An intramuscular injection is short-lived and inexpensive, but doing it at home may end up ending, so you won’t be able to save either money or time.
When the person who needs the shot has HIV, hepatitis or other blood-borne infections, or if it is not known whether the person has these infections (no valid certificate). In this case, it is better to entrust the matter to specialists in order to eliminate the risk of infection: doctors have more experience, and they will then dispose of the instruments properly.
If you are very scared and your hands are shaking so much that you do not hit the patient.

At least once in a lifetime, every person has to be treated with intramuscular injections. Injections are given into the buttock or leg. It is better if the injections are given by a specialist. But not all patients have the opportunity to visit the treatment room. Calling a private nurse is expensive. You can learn how to give injections in the buttock yourself. Knowledge of where the injection is placed correctly will be useful when treating children and adults.

What you need to know

Injections into the buttock muscle are the most effective way to take the medication. The medicine enters the muscle and is quickly distributed throughout the body through the blood vessels. But it is important to understand that the injection can only be given in a certain area of the buttock. Blood vessels and the sciatic nerve pass through the muscle; it is important not to get into them.

If you make an intramuscular injection incorrectly, you can get a number of unpleasant consequences. The most dangerous of them are abscess and pinching of the sciatic nerve. The patient will temporarily be unable to move his leg and the muscle will become inflamed. Therefore, it is important to do the procedure correctly and according to the instructions.

Before any intramuscular injection, read the rules:

The entire procedure must take place under sterile conditions. Before injecting, you need to treat your hands with an antiseptic. The surface where the ampoules and syringe will be placed is covered with a sterile napkin or a clean towel.
For the injection you will need: cotton wool, alcohol, a syringe for 2 or 5 cubes.

It would be correct for an adult to take a 5 cc syringe, since the needle needs to be long, otherwise the injection will be subcutaneous, which means there is a risk of a lump and abscess. A 2-cc syringe is suitable for injecting children under 14 years of age.

It is better to make injections with imported syringes with a rubberized piston. With its help, the drug is administered more slowly and there will be fewer side effects.
It is better to give intramuscular injections to a person in a supine state. This way the buttock muscle will be relaxed and it will be easier to give the injection.

How to give an intramuscular injection

An intramuscular injection should be given in the upper outer 1/4 of the buttock. Which side of the soft spot does not matter if the injection is the first. For a more detailed view, the area can be viewed in the figure - diagram below. Conditionally divide the buttocks into 4 equal parts, the injection will be placed in the upper one.

You can give an injection in the following steps:

Open the package with the syringe and place it on a sterile cloth.
Open the ampoule with the drug. The correct way to do this is with a special knife. Most modern drugs are sold in ampoules with a designated break point. The tip of the ampoule is turned with cotton wool or a napkin and broken off. You should not break the ampoule with your bare hands; you can overdo it and the glass will burst, injuring your hand.
Check the drug concentration. If the prescribed drugs are in a bottle in the form of a dry powder, then they must be diluted with saline or novocaine.

The doctor will tell you what composition to dilute correctly. To pierce the rubber cap of the vial, it is correct to use a separate needle.

Open the protective cap and draw the medication into the syringe. Try not to touch the glass walls, as this will dull the needle and it will be painful to inject. You need to take the drug in slightly larger quantities than necessary.
Turn the syringe over with the needle facing up and tap it with your fingers. There should be no air left in the preparation. Squeeze out some of the drug so there is no air in the needle.
Disinfect the place where you will give the injection, use alcohol and with a sharp movement insert the needle 2/3 inside. You cannot inject with cotton, as air will get into the needle.
Gently press the plunger and inject the medication. There should be a little medicine left in the syringe, less than 0.1 ml. This will give you greater confidence that air has not entered the muscle.
Pull out the needle and apply cotton wool and alcohol to the injection site. The cotton wool should be held for 1 minute. Lightly massage the injection site. This will speed up the absorption of the drug.

Since the injections are prescribed as a single injection, the drug must be administered every day into a different buttock. If you give the injection to yourself, it is easier to give it to the leg muscle. The procedure is painful, so it’s worth getting creative and sticking a syringe into the buttock. As for how and where to inject, the reader should have no questions.

How to give an injection in the buttock yourself - tips

What happens if you do not completely knock out the air from the syringe and inject several air bubbles into the muscle or under the skin?

Can you give multiple injections with one needle?
Make one puncture, inject one medicine first, disconnect the syringe, leaving the needle in the muscle, then insert another syringe with the second medicine and inject it? I don't want to make an extra puncture!

Theoretically, with the introduction of certain drugs, it is possible, but practically, the reduction of pain is questionable, and complications are likely.

In any case, this can only be done if the medications are compatible.
In practice, administering two drugs without changing the needle position is equivalent to mixing two drugs in one syringe. Some drugs may cause undesirable reactions when mixed in this way. Sharing your desire to inject less, we still advise you to check with the doctor who prescribed the injections whether the drugs prescribed for you can be mixed in one syringe.
In addition, leaving a needle in a muscle and repeatedly connecting a syringe to it, in terms of pain, is even worse than several punctures of the skin: the left needle will “pick” the muscle when you insert the syringe, the injured muscle will hurt both during and after injection.
In addition, drugs introduced in this way (“in one hole”) will create a greater load on the muscle area, and it is even more likely that a seal will result as an undesirable consequence of the injection. You can read more about how to give an injection without pain in this article on the site about syringes and injections.

How can you get rid of bruises on the buttocks that remain after iron injections and have not gone away for 1 year?

Unfortunately, some drugs (for example, iron supplements) are absorbed very poorly and leave bruises that do not go away for a long time (including a year or longer).
However, in general, bruises do not pose a significant danger; rather, they are a cosmetic defect.
To eliminate old bruises, you can try compresses with Lyoton, compresses with Dimexide (1:5 with water) at home, and physical procedures in a clinic are also recommended (electrophoresis or ultraphonophoresis with heparin, potassium iodine).
If there is no effect, an in-person consultation with a surgeon may be necessary.

Is it possible to take tablets instead of injections?

It is possible, but not always desirable.
Tablets, passing through the digestive tract, enter a chemically active environment - digestive acids, enzymes - which, interacting with medications, destroy them (tablets), reducing their effectiveness and medicinal properties.
Chemical compounds formed during the interaction of drugs with digestive enzymes can provoke the development of gastritis and other diseases, such as stomach ulcers. A drug introduced into the body by injection almost instantly reaches the diseased organ unchanged and without irritating the digestive system.
In addition, different forms of the drug (drops, tablets, suppositories, injection solution, etc.) and the associated route of entry of the drug into the body have different therapeutic effects, which for a number of diseases must be achieved using a specific method of administering the drug to the body.
Therefore, the decision to prescribe one or another form of the drug is made by the doctor based on a number of factors, and you should not change the form of the drug without the consent of the attending physician.

Is it possible to take a shower (bath) during a course of injections?

Take a hygienic shower as often as you need - especially before injections, this is not only possible, but also necessary.
After taking the injections, press the injection site with cotton wool soaked in alcohol so as not to infect the injection site, take a shower an hour or two after the injection.

After taking the drug from the ampoule, is it necessary to change the needle on the syringe before the injection? For what?

If the medicine was previously in an ampoule with a rubber cap, which must be pierced to draw the medicine - after drawing the medicine, It's better to change the needle. Since the needle, having pierced the elastic band in the ampoule cap, becomes dull - and, obviously, the sharper the needle, the less painful the injection.
There are also certain types of medications (insulin, for example), for which the instructions include a note: “change the needle,” in such cases the needle must be changed.
Or, for example, you took the medicine and touched the needle, in which case it also needs to be changed in order to avoid complications associated with infection.

Why does blood come out after an injection? Is it dangerous?

If after you give the injection, blood comes out, this indicates that you have touched a blood vessel.
This is not dangerous. Press the injection site with a cotton swab and alcohol and hold for about five minutes. If the blood does not leak out, but under the skin, a bruise will form. Apply ice immediately, and on the second day - a heating pad to help the bruise resolve faster.

When opening the ampoule, the glass sometimes crumbles and gets into the syringe along with the medicine. What happens if such fragments get into a muscle or a vessel?

The probability of glass chips from an ampoule getting into the body is considered to be almost zero, so we can say that there is no reason to worry - you are more likely to cut yourself on the edges of the ampoule than glass fragments get into the syringe. At the same time, according to the rules of injection, a crumbled ampoule must be thrown away. Let's consider the situation with glass inside the ampoule in detail. In order for a fragment of an ampoule to get into the syringe, it must pass through the needle. The diameter of the injection needle is quite small (the outer diameter of a standard needle for intramuscular injections is 0.6 mm, the inner diameter is even smaller), so it is extremely unlikely that a fragment of the ampoule will pass through this hole. All glass fragments (both larger particles and microparticles) will of course fall to the bottom of the solution. In this case, you can protect yourself this way: when taking the drug, do not lower the needle to the bottom of the ampoule if the purpose allows you to leave part of the solution in the ampoule. In the liquid remaining in the ampoule, there will be fragments at the bottom. If we nevertheless consider the theoretical possibility that a microscopic fragment of the ampoule will pass through the needle, enter the syringe, and from there into the patient’s muscle, the following will probably happen: such a foreign body will “be delimited” and a compaction will form around it. And most likely, the patient will not even feel it. Read how to avoid breaking off ampoule fragments on this page of the site.

Will the needle hit the bone during an intramuscular injection?

The likelihood of hitting the periosteum is extremely low. To protect the patient from this possibility, it is first necessary to choose the right injection site. The best place for an intramuscular injection is the upper outer part of the buttock, this is the muscle least likely to hit a blood vessel, nerve or bone when injected.
Read more about intramuscular injections: read.

Why is the intramuscular injection given exactly where it is done (outer upper quarter)?

To avoid complications. At this point there is little chance of the needle hitting a blood vessel, nerve or bone.

The main thing, when you give an injection in the buttock, is to try to ensure that the needle gets into the muscle and does not remain in the fat layer - otherwise the medicine will be wasted and, in addition, a lump may form at the injection site, which will take a long time to dissolve.

Usually it is enough to insert the needle to a depth of 2 - 3 cm, which can be done with a 0.6x30 or 0.7x30 needle, which is supplied with syringes for intramuscular injections. If your patient’s constitution raises doubts about the possibility of effectively performing an injection with standard needles, take a longer needle, for example, 0.8x40.

Is it possible to inject with the same needle if you accidentally pull out the syringe before the end of the drug administration?

To prevent this from happening, you need to adhere to the rules for performing the injection.
If for some reason you pull out the syringe earlier than expected, do not be alarmed, calm down and try the injection again.
You don't have to change the needle in the event that you give an injection to the same person - given that if, when pulling the syringe out of the buttock, the needle did not come into contact with foreign objects (for example, it did not fall on the floor).

Why does the intramuscular injection have to be done so deep (about 3 cm)?

The intramuscular injection must be done so deeply (about 3 cm for an adult patient, and about 2 cm for a child) so that the medicine reaches its intended purpose - into the muscle tissue, and not, say, into the fat layer.
If you inject shallowly and the medicine does not get into the muscle, the medicine will be wasted, in addition, a lump may form at the injection site, which will take a long time to dissolve.

Each type of injection has its own method of administering the medicine and this fact should not be ignored to achieve maximum results.
Standard needles for intramuscular injections in adults are 3 cm long (0.6x30 and 0.7x30), for large patients it is better to take a needle 4 cm long (0.8x40). For children, there is a special syringe with a shorter and thinner needle - BogMark 3 ml syringe with a 0.5x25 needle.

How to give an injection without hurting?

To minimize pain during intramuscular administration of the drug, the following measures can be recommended:
1) use good syringes with sharp needles
2) injections must be taken exclusively in a lying position. The gluteal muscle should be completely relaxed; for better relaxation of the muscles of the foot, turn your toes inward. Many patients prefer to remove all clothing below the waist so that nothing interferes with the relaxation of the muscles of the buttocks and legs.
3) Before the injection, massage well the muscle into which the injection will be made, intensively rub the injection site with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.
4) The drug must be administered slowly, smoothly - this will make it easier for the muscle to accept it, and the pain with slow administration will be significantly reduced. To administer the drug slowly, it is better to use a three-component syringe: the rubber seal on its piston allows you to inject the drug smoothly and at the required speed.
5) when introducing the medicine and removing the needle, try to hold the syringe at the same angle so that the needle does not “pick” the muscle. Well, of course, follow all the other rules of injection - use a needle of the correct length, follow the rules of asepsis, etc. On the pages of the Site about syringes and injections, the site can read in detail about preparing and performing an injection at home.

Do I need to massage the injection site after the injection?

After an intramuscular injection, and unless otherwise indicated in the instructions for the drug, - Yes.
Massaging the puncture site after the injection improves blood circulation and helps distribute the medicine into the tissues. In addition, wiping the injection site with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol is a good means of disinfection.

When someone close to us or we ourselves get sick and doctors prescribe a course of injections, we inevitably have to retrain as a home nurse and urgently learn how to give injections correctly. It is really best to entrust the administration of intravenous injections to people with medical education, but anyone can handle intramuscular injections, however, this does not mean that this procedure should be treated negligently.

The main thing is to follow all the rules, not be afraid, act calmly, carefully and carefully, and everything will go well for you and for your “patient”. To gain more confidence in your abilities, you can practice on a pillow, as medical students do.

Video course for aspiring nurses

What is the best place to give injections at home?

There are several types of injections: intramuscular, intravenous, subcutaneous, intradermal. The most common type of injection is intramuscular; they are used when small volumes of the drug need to be administered. Anyone can give a muscle injection correctly. Intramuscular medications are administered mainly to those parts of the body in which the muscle tissue has maximum thickness, and there are no large vessels or nerve trunks nearby.

Most often, intramuscular injections are given in the buttock, arm (deltoid muscle) or the front of the thigh. For a non-professional, it is safest and easiest to inject into the gluteal muscle - there is less likelihood of negative consequences (the muscle mass in the arm may not be enough, and after an injection in the thigh, the leg may “pull”).

How to give intramuscular injections

First, prepare everything you need to perform the injection:

the drug prescribed for administration in ampoules or in the form of a dry powder in a bottle;
three-component syringe with a volume from 2.5 ml to 11 ml, depending on the volume of the drug prescribed for administration;
cotton balls;
alcohol 96%;
solvent (if the injection needs to be prepared from dry powder).
Before starting the procedure, wash your hands thoroughly. Then we take the ampoule with the medicine, carefully examine it, read the name, the amount of the medicine and its expiration date. Lightly shake the ampoule and tap the tip of the ampoule with your fingernail so that all the medicine falls down. We wipe the tip of the ampoule with a cotton swab moistened with alcohol and, at the point of transition from the narrow part to the wide part, file it using a special file, which should be in the box along with the ampoules. You need to run the nail file several times with pressure along the base of the tip, and then break it off in the direction away from you. To protect yourself from an accidental cut, you can wrap the ampoule in a paper napkin.

We open the package with syringes and, without removing the cap, put a needle on the syringe. Remove the cap from the needle, lower the syringe with the needle into the ampoule, pull the plunger towards you and draw up the medicine. After drawing up the medicine, turn the syringe vertically up and tap it with your fingernail so that the air bubbles rise up. By gradually pressing the syringe plunger, we “push” the air through the needle until a drop of the drug appears at the tip of the needle. Cover the needle with a cap.

If the prescribed medicine is not an ampoule, but a dry powder in a bottle, you will need a solvent (“water for injection,” novocaine, lidocaine, etc.). To choose the right solvent, carefully read the instructions for the drug or check the name of the suitable solvent with the doctor who prescribed the drug. According to the scheme described above, we draw the solvent from the ampoule into the syringe. We open the metal cap of the bottle, wipe the rubber cap with alcohol and, piercing it with a needle, introduce the solvent. Shake the bottle until the powder is completely dissolved, turn it upside down and draw the prepared solution into the syringe. After this, you should change the needle. You should not inject with the same needle that you used to pierce the rubber cap, since the sterility of the needle is impaired and it also becomes dull, which makes the injection more painful.

We give injections at home

Before giving an injection in the buttock, the patient should be placed on his stomach or side to relax the muscles. The intended injection site must first be palpated to avoid the possibility of the needle getting into seals or nodes.

If you will be injecting yourself, it is extremely important to choose the most comfortable position for the injection. It is advisable to practice in front of a mirror, in which position it will be most convenient for you to inject - lying on your side (the surface should be hard enough so that the injection process is more controlled) or standing half-turned towards the mirror.

Mentally divide the buttock into four squares. The injection should be made in the upper outer square.

Take a cotton swab moistened with alcohol and thoroughly wipe the injection site. If the injection site is not disinfected, this can lead to the formation of infiltrates - painful compactions, and to more serious consequences.

Having removed the cap from the needle and released the air from the syringe, hold the syringe with your right hand, and meanwhile stretch the skin at the injection site with your left. If you are injecting a child, the skin, on the contrary, needs to be pulled into a fold.

We withdraw the hand with the syringe and sharply at a right angle stick it into the muscle 3/4 of the needle, but do not insert it to the very end. Many beginners, when injecting for the first time, are afraid to insert the needle sharply and introduce it gradually. By “stretching out” the injection, you cause unnecessary pain to the patient. The sharper and more clearly you insert the needle into the muscle, the less painful the injection will be.

Using the thumb of your right hand, pressing on the piston, slowly inject the medicine. The slower the drug is administered, the less likely it is to form a lump. We press the injection site with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol and remove the needle with a sharp movement. Lightly massage the injured muscle with a cotton swab so that the drug is absorbed faster and the alcohol disinfects the wound well.

Important points about intramuscular injections

Whether the injection will be traumatic and painful for your “patient” depends not only on your skill, but also on the design of the syringe. It is advisable to use not the old two-component syringes, which cause unnecessary pain to the patient with intermittent movement of the piston, but modern three-component ones with a rubber seal on the piston.

If an oil solution is used as an intramuscular injection, the ampoule should be slightly warmed in warm water before the procedure. If the oil solution enters the bloodstream, it can cause an embolism, so after inserting the needle, the syringe plunger must be pulled slightly toward you. If blood begins to flow into the syringe, it means you have entered a blood vessel. In this case, without removing the needle, you should change the direction and depth of immersion or replace the needle and try to inject in another place. If blood does not flow into the syringe, you can safely inject the solution.

The most important thing is hygiene: for each injection, even to yourself, you should use a new syringe and needle. Under no circumstances should you reuse disposable syringes and needles! Before you draw the medicine into a syringe and give an injection, be sure to make sure that the packaging of the syringe and needle is intact. If the seal of the package is broken, the syringe should be discarded.

That's all! As you can see - nothing complicated

An injection into the buttock with a syringe (intramuscular injection) is the most convenient and safe way of parenteral administration of a medicinal solution.

The gluteal muscle is a massive layer of tissue in which a drug depot is created, and the abundant blood supply allows the drug to quickly spread throughout the body.

The anatomical feature of this area is the minimum number of nerve endings, which facilitates painless penetration of the solution into the tissue.

Preparing for the injection

Before performing an intramuscular injection, it is necessary to disinfect your hands (or medical gloves) and treat the injection site.

For these purposes, antiseptic agents are used: ethyl alcohol, manorm or alcohol wipes. At home, you can use vodka or cologne.

Place a disposable syringe with a needle in the package, an ampoule with medicine, an opening file, cotton wool or alcohol wipes on a clean surface.

For intramuscular injections, syringes with a volume of 5 ml are used, for small children - 2 ml. For adults, the drug should be administered as deeply as possible so as not to cause severe pain and inflammation after administration.

The main condition for the manipulation is compliance with the rules of asepsis and selection of the injection site. To correctly give an intramuscular injection into the buttock, you need to follow the following sequence of actions:

The next drug is injected into the other buttock or at a distance of 1-2 cm from the previous injection site.

How to open an ampoule correctly?

There are two ways to open the ampoule.

First, using a nail file, you need to file the upper, narrow part of the ampoule and break it.
The second is for ampoules with a breaking point (applied to the ampoule by the manufacturer) - you just need to break the upper part of the ampoule with your hands, and the point should be turned towards the person performing the manipulation.

An injection is a manipulation that should be performed by a medical professional, but there are situations when it is not possible to visit an outpatient clinic or invite a nurse to your home.

In this case, the drug can be administered intramuscularly on your own, but you must first familiarize yourself with the rules in order to understand how to inject yourself into the buttock.

With washed hands, draw the contents of the ampoule into a sterile syringe so that no air gets inside. If this happens, shake the contents and squeeze out the bubbles from the syringe by lifting it up.
Treat the injection site with an antiseptic.
While standing or lying on one side, inject into the correctly selected point; you can hold the skin fold with your free hand.
Squeeze out the contents and pull out the needle.
Treat the injection site with a cotton swab moistened with alcohol or an alcohol wipe.

There are several areas on the body suitable for the procedure:

Injection into the deltoid muscle of the shoulder;
Injection in the front of the thigh;
Injection into the area of the upper outer quadrant of the buttock.

Performing shoulder injections on your own is inconvenient and painful. You can do it in the thigh muscles, but this is a very sensitive place where large nerves pass. Therefore, complications and severe pain are possible.

The buttock is the safest injection site. You can choose a place as follows: visually divide the gluteal region into four equal parts.

Select the upper, outer area. Place a dot in the center - the injection site.

Possible unpleasant situations when injecting yourself

Self-injections are forced measures, therefore injecting yourself is not only inconvenient, but also scary, and the following mistakes are also possible:

The injection field has not been sufficiently processed;
The needle is not inserted to its full length;
It is difficult to exclude entry into the vessel;
Needle breakage due to muscle tension.

Often the patient cannot overcome the psychological barrier that is caused by self-inflicted pain.

Video - Injection in the buttock

Complications after intramuscular injections

Carrying out medical procedures, even such simple ones as intramuscular injections, requires compliance with certain rules.

Otherwise, the following complications are possible:

The entry of a drug intended only for intramuscular administration into the blood. This can be prevented if you control whether the needle enters the vessel: pull the plunger towards you; if there is blood in the syringe, then you need to slightly pull the needle towards yourself.
Painful lumps (infiltrates) - form after repeated injections into one point or after poor treatment of the injection site or hands. This complication occurs especially often after injections of oil solutions and magnesium sulfate.
Abscess - an infected infiltrate can develop into an abscess: a painful, hyperemic area. Treatment is surgical.
Allergic reactions. The occurrence of allergic reactions requires categorical discontinuation of the drug. Before the first administration of antibiotics, it is necessary to perform an intradermal allergy test.

After a correctly performed manipulation, no complications arise. Therefore, intramuscular injections can be performed independently at home, if you carefully read the rules of administration.