Several things can be done to make the injection less painful, please discuss these options with the physician:. The medication prescribed should be injected into subcutaneous tissue. This is the tissue between the fat layer just under the skin and over the top of the muscles.
Subcutaneous tissue is all over your body, but the most common areas for subcutaneous injections are:. The grids shown on the body maps on the right are the best places for subcutaneous injections because these are away from joints, nerves and large blood vessels.
Discuss the best sites for injection with the nurse or physician. Site rotation is a system of changing injection sites in a pattern that will help you choose different sites each time you inject. This helps prevent problems that could come from giving injections in the same area.
Giving injections in the same place each day may cause your skin to become sunken atrophy or lumpy hypertrophy. You are here: Assessment skills. Injection technique 2: administering drugs via the subcutaneous route. Abstract The subcutaneous route allows drugs such as insulin and heparin to be absorbed slowly over a period of time.
Author: Eileen Shepherd is clinical editor at Nursing Times. This article has been double-blind peer reviewed Scroll down to read the article or download a print-friendly PDF here if the PDF fails to fully download please try again using a different browser Read part 1 of this series here This articles was updated 12th November Box 1.
Journal of Advanced Nursing; 3, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Down S, Kirkland F Injection technique in insulin therapy. Nursing Times; 10, Hunter J Subcutaneous injection technique. Nursing Standard; 21, Mohammady M et al Slow versus fast subcutaneous heparin injections for prevention of bruising and site pain intensity. Ogston-Tuck S Subcutaneous injection technique: an evidence-based approach. Nursing Standard; 3, Srivastava L, Robson P Pain from subcutaneous injections: myth or reality.
Zijlstra E et al Impact of injection speed, volume, and site on pain sensation. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology; 1, Related files. NT Contributor. Please remember that the submission of any material is governed by our Terms and Conditions and by submitting material you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted. We use cookies to personalize and improve your experience on our site.
The needle should be completely covered by skin. If you do this quickly, you will feel very little discomfort. Hold the syringe with one hand. With the other, pull back the plunger to check for blood.
If you see blood in the solution in the syringe, do not inject. Withdraw the needle and start again at a new site. If you do not see blood , slowly push the plunger to inject the medication. Press the plunger all the way down.
Remove the needle from the skin and gently hold an alcohol pad on the injection site. Do not rub. If there is bleeding, apply a bandage. Use of this Site All information contained within the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center website is intended for educational purposes only.
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