In many cases, the medicine is recommended to be administered intramuscularly. With this method, the gastrointestinal tract is not injured, the drug is quickly distributed by the blood throughout the body. The word “intramuscular” in relation to adults means an injection into the gluteal muscle, but when it comes to children, everything is not so simple.
Technique for giving injections to young children
How successfully the child’s first injection is given will determine his attitude towards this procedure for the rest of his life. Therefore, if you decide to give it to your baby yourself, be calm and confident. He will certainly feel any excitement. Act quickly, clearly and accurately. Then the procedure will be the least painful for you and the baby.
Choose syringes depending on the volume of the drug administered. Give preference to thin and short needles. If you need to inject 1 or 2 ml, you can purchase insulin syringes.
Psychological preparation of the baby
By playing “doctor” you can find out all the secrets from children or help them adjust psychologically. The easiest way to prepare your child is at home. Wherein the main role(in our case, the girl is a nurse, and the boy is a nurse) should go to him.
First, let's get acquainted with the syringe. Buy them in excess so that you can trust your child to open the package on their own and insert the needle (closed with a protective cap!) onto the syringe. Show how the piston moves, draw in water and release it. Then give the injection to a plush toy.
Never leave a child alone with a needle. At the end of the game, check all the medical equipment you used. For example, you can tell your child that the doctor must report on the materials used. Look at them before you start playing, bag them up right after and make sure everything is in place.
If you are confident in your patient's reaction and behavior, invite him to very gently touch the tip of the needle. Tell them that it is so sharp specifically so that the injection is least painful for the patient.
Be honest. Do not downplay the pain from the injection. It’s better to focus your baby’s attention on the benefits of it. For example, vitamins will help him grow faster and slide down that big hill that he wants to climb on a walk. The cure is to get well soon and go get some ice cream.
Preparing for the injection
Immediately before the procedure, do the following:
- wash your hands with soap;
- prepare cotton wool, alcohol (or buy disposable wipes at the pharmacy in advance for treating injection sites), a syringe in a closed original package, an ampoule with the drug;
- open the syringe and ampoule;
- draw the drug into the syringe and release excess air;
- treat the needle insertion site;
- securely secure the child, be prepared for him to begin to resist;
- quickly insert the needle, slowly inject the drug and remove it, pressing it with a cotton pad at the end;
- treat the wound.
If you are giving an injection in the leg, then sit the child on your lap, press his arms to your chest with your hand, and fix his legs. If in the buttock, then place the baby on your lap, butt up, while pressing his legs with one foot, and lightly pressing on his back with your hand.
If you are afraid that the child will twitch and you will not be able to immediately find the correct place to insert the needle, first mark a dot with a green dot. It's harmless, and you'll feel safer.
When you're finished, praise your baby. If he didn't behave the way you agreed, he still managed. Analyze how he felt and at what point something went wrong. Next time everything will certainly be better!
Where to inject?
The injection site depends on the patient's age. In the first years of life, the injection is given only in the upper thigh. As a rule, the phrase “the first years of life” means infancy up to 3 years. This depends not only on age, but also on body type and weight. Small and thin children will take longer to receive hip injections than their larger peers.
This place for children was not chosen by chance. The thing is that in babies the vessels and nerves are located closer to the skin simply because they are small both in age and size. To reduce the risk of the needle getting into the sciatic nerve or vein, injections are given in the thigh. It's safer this way.
An intramuscular injection should be given to a child over 3 years of age in the buttock. To do this, half the butt is mentally divided into 4 squares, and the syringe needle is inserted into the center of the upper square, which is closer to the edge of the butt.
If you inject regularly, alternate where the needle is inserted. That is, if today you injected right leg or the right buttock, then tomorrow inject into the left side of the body. When you inject into your right leg again, step back from the previous wound by 1-2 cm in different directions.
How to properly administer the needle and drug?
Before inserting the needle, you need to grab the skin with two fingers, as if you were trying to pinch a child. The distance between them should be approximately 3-4 cm. When you are already holding the child with one hand and giving an injection with the other, ask someone to help you.
The needle should be inserted quickly and carefully, perpendicular to the baby's body part. If you hesitate, you will only increase the patient’s torment. Press the plunger slowly and smoothly so that the drug enters the body gradually.
Removing the syringe
Before removing the needle, press a cotton swab soaked in alcohol near the injection site, and then quickly pull the needle out. Lightly massage around the wound. This will disinfect it and disperse the drug through the capillaries in the muscle, preventing it from accumulating at one point. Then you can cover the wound with a band-aid for 15 minutes to prevent dirt from getting into it.
Possible errors and complications after injection
This article talks about typical ways to solve your issues, but each case is unique! If you want to find out from me how to solve your particular problem, ask your question. It's fast and free!
Unfortunately, even experienced nurses do not always give injections to children without consequences. No one is immune from mistakes, but this is not a reason to refuse injections. When you have the information and know how to respond different situations, you can help your baby.
| Complication | Why did this happen? | What to do? |
| Hard ball or lump at the injection site | The drug did not dissolve or due to incorrect injection technique it was injected subcutaneously | Apply Traumeel, Levomekol or iodine mesh to the seal |
| Abscess (suppuration of the wound) | Dirt got into the wound or sterility was not maintained during the procedure | Contact a doctor (surgeon) |
| Bruise (hematoma, hemorrhage) | The needle touched a vessel or the drug was injected too quickly | The hematoma will go away on its own; to speed up this process, it can be smeared with heparin ointment |
| Air infiltration (seal, lump) | There is air left in the syringe | The painful lump will go away on its own, but you can lubricate it with Traumeel or Levomekol |
| The needle hit the sciatic nerve (instant burning pain) | The needle is too long or the injection site is chosen incorrectly | Immediately remove the needle and consult a doctor |
There are few complications after injections. The lumps are not scary; in most cases they go away on their own, without causing significant discomfort to young patients. The most serious complication is an abscess. Body tissues literally dissolve into pus, but this only happens in advanced cases.
How to learn to give injections yourself at home?
Learning how to give injections correctly is not at all difficult. In this matter, however, as in any other, practice is needed. You can train on grapes - they have delicate skin and small size.
You can watch special training videos. Including those that teach future doctors. They will help you better understand exactly where and how the injection should be given. With each new injection you will act more confidently and faster. By observing the child's reaction, you will select optimal speed administration of the drug.
To treat a variety of diseases, doctors often prescribe a course of injections.
Therefore, knowing the basic rules of how to give an injection in the buttock at home greatly simplifies the treatment period. Because there is not always time to go to the hospital to see a nurse.
It is still better to trust intravenous injections to people with medical education. And everyone can handle intramuscular ones, but you shouldn’t treat it negligently.
It is important to adhere to all the rules, not to be afraid, to act calmly, carefully and carefully. Then everything will end well for yourself or a loved one.
The gluteal muscle is thick enough to allow an injection without damaging the periosteum. The main large neurovascular bundles in the buttock area run deep. Therefore, the chances of damaging them are much less than injecting the medicine into other muscles.
Which syringe and needle is best to use for injections?
To administer the drug intramuscularly, use a syringe equal in volume to the injected solution.
In most cases, children are administered the drug in a volume of 2-3 milliliters. For adults, 5 milliliters is most often required. Sometimes 10 milliliters are administered.
For intramuscular injections, it is better to choose a needle with a length of 4-6 millimeters. This makes it possible to eliminate deep insertion and not to injure large vessels and nerves that are located deep.
In order to give the injection correctly, you should know in which part of the buttock to place it. It is better to choose the upper outer part.
You can mentally divide your buttocks into 4 equal quadrants. The middle of the upper outer quadrant is optimal for injection.
The injection area, which will be the safest area for the injection, can be easily determined if you step back 5-8 centimeters from the most protruding level of the pelvic bones. This is the best place to inject.
Intramuscular injections can be made with both aqueous and oil solutions. The annotation for the drug must indicate that they are intended for this purpose.
Before drawing the medicine into the syringe, experts advise holding the ampoule in your hand for a while. Thus, it will warm up to body temperature. A warm solution is easier to administer and dissolves much faster.
When is the medicine used? oil based, you need to check whether the needle has entered the vessel. To do this, pull the plunger towards you and make sure that no blood enters the syringe. If it is absent, you can begin to gradually introduce the solution.
But if it is present in the syringe, you need to choose a different place. You can do it on the same buttock, stepping back 2 centimeters from the first puncture.
Except correct definition places for injection, others need to be done preparatory work:
How to give injections correctly and how to inject yourself
There are situations when mothers are forced to learn how to give injections to their children at home. Indeed, in certain situations, not everyone is ready to leave their baby in the hospital, and some do not have the opportunity to pay for the services of a nurse. Therefore, such skills will be very useful in the most unexpected situations.
First of all, you need to prepare everything you need for the procedure:
- Medicine. It must be prescribed by a doctor. Use the dosage that corresponds to the prescription. Checking the expiration date is mandatory.
- Medical syringe.
- Sterile cotton wool.
- Correctly selected syringe for injecting a child. The choice depends on the age and build of the baby.
You should find a place in advance where it will be more convenient to give your baby an injection. It should be comfortable for the baby, with bright lighting.
Instructions for performing the injection are the same as for adults. While doing this, it is very important to remain calm. Otherwise, the child will immediately feel the mother’s panic. It will be very difficult to give an injection.
You need to believe in yourself and make sure that the baby is relaxed. This will allow the needle to enter the muscle more easily.
All preparatory manipulations must be carried out so that the baby does not see them. There is no need to scare the baby in advance.
The prepared syringe with the medicine and the cap on the needle should be left on a clean saucer and only then call or bring the child into the room.
Before the procedure, you should massage the baby’s butt warm hands selected location for the procedure. This will help circulate the blood and relax the gluteal muscle.
It is very important to distract the child during the procedure.. You can turn on cartoons and bring his favorite toys.
The most important thing is to make sure that he doesn’t see the syringe hovering over his butt. Only then will the gluteal muscle be relaxed, and the injection itself will be almost painless and quick.
For faster absorption of the medicine, you need to draw a funny iodine mesh at the injection site. To prevent a lump from appearing, the buttock should be massaged regularly. It is important not to forget to praise your child for a well-done procedure.
If there is a need to give an injection in the buttock yourself, then when performing the procedure it is important to adhere to some rules:
- Sometimes you have to give several injections at the same time. In this case, it is better to alternate the buttocks.
- When giving injections frequently, small hematomas may form on the buttocks, and the injection sites may hurt. An iodine mesh will help alleviate the situation.
- You should always remember to maintain hygiene. Needles, syringes, used cotton wool, empty glass ampoules should be thrown into the trash immediately. Under no circumstances should disposable syringes be reused.
Everyone can learn how to give injections at home. The procedure itself is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.
To do this, you should study the basic rules of such a procedure, preparatory work, and strictly follow the instructions. Then everything will be easy and almost painless.
If children need to be given an injection, they should be distracted as much as possible. They should not be afraid and be in a tense state.
Problems may occur with intravenous injections. Therefore, it is better to entrust them to medical professionals.
The most in a simple way Subcutaneous administration of drugs is considered an intramuscular injection into the upper part of the buttock. Usually the injection is given by a nurse or doctor, but you can do it yourself. Let's figure out how to give an injection in the buttock of a child, an adult and yourself - all the features of introducing the procedure without harm to health.
You can give an injection in the buttock at home
How to choose a syringe and needle for an injection in the buttock
The main thing you need to know when choosing a syringe for injection is that the volume of the instrument should not exceed the amount of the drug administered:
- for children – 2 ml;
- for adults – 5 ml (very rarely 10 ml).
The volume of the syringe for injecting a child should be no more than 2 ml
Injections with a volume of more than 10 ml are not given into muscle tissue. A large amount of medicine is not able to quickly dissolve and spread throughout the body. This condition can lead to purulent abscesses.
To prevent the injection of the drug from being too deep, the most suitable needle length is considered to be 4–6 cm. This will also help not to touch the walls of capillaries and nerve endings,
Which part of the buttock should the injections be given?
The upper (outer) part of the buttock is considered a suitable area. To avoid mistakes, the muscle must be visually divided into 4 equal parts. The upper square, namely its middle, will be the area where you need to place the injection.
Most appropriate place for injection into the buttock
The photo clearly shows the area that is best suited for administering medications. The location is far from the sciatic nerve, iliac bone and spinal column, which allows for safe manipulation.
Preparing for intramuscular injection
The results of the procedure depend on a number of simple manipulations:
- Inspect the ampoule with the medicine for its integrity, and also check the expiration date of the drug.
- Collect all the medicine at the bottom of the ampoule. To do this, you will need to lightly shake the ampoule 1-2 times.
- Use a special file (supplied with the preparation) to file the upper part of the glass flask. Usually the incision site is marked with a colored rim.
- Break off the sawn tip of the ampoule. For safety, it is better to place the cone in a napkin so as not to get hurt when opening the glass vial.
- Release the syringe needle from the protective cap and immerse it in the medicinal liquid. Pull the handle of the instrument towards you and draw out the medicine.
Break the tip of the ampoule and fill the syringe with medicine
When the syringe is filled with liquid, you need to tap it a little with your finger. This will help to collect all the air bubbles and, by gently pressing the piston, bring them out. After this, you can give the injection.
If the main drug substance has powder form, it is diluted in a special solution (indicated in the instructions).
This is done as follows:
- remove the protective metal cap from the bottle;
- using a needle and syringe required amount add the solution to the bottle with the powder;
- shake thoroughly;
- turn the bottle over, pierce the cap and collect the medicine in the syringe.
Instructions for performing an injection in the buttock
It is not difficult to give an injection to an adult or children. The main thing is to follow the sequence of actions and know all the nuances of the procedure.
Technique for injections in adults
The following scheme will help you give the injection as painlessly as possible.
- Place the patient on a flat surface face down and free the upper part of the buttock from clothing.
- Wipe the injection site with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.
- You need to hold the syringe with your right hand and stretch the skin in the area of the upcoming injection with your left.
- The needle should be inserted three-quarters of the way into the muscle at an angle of 90 degrees. The hand movement should be confident and fast.
- Inject the medicinal solution by slowly pressing on the syringe plunger and sharply remove the needle from the buttock, covering the injured area with alcohol-soaked cotton wool.
It is important to understand that rapid administration of the medication makes the procedure very painful and can cause the formation of lumps and lumps.
Before the injection, treat the skin with alcohol
How to properly give an injection to a child
Children are heavier than adults to tolerate injections that are given intramuscularly.
To make the unpleasant procedure as easy as possible for a small organism, several basic nuances should be taken into account:
- When preparing the injection site, the skin should not be stretched (as in adults), but rather folded.
- Massage well required area muscles.
- Insert the needle at an angle of 45 degrees.
The rest of the manipulations are the same as for an adult.
Insert the needle at an angle
Intramuscular injections are not recommended to be injected into the same place more than 2 times a week. The buttocks must be alternated, and the distance between skin punctures should be 1-2 cm. This will avoid compaction in the muscle tissue and pain.
How to inject yourself
There are situations when there is no one to give an intramuscular injection and you have to carry out this manipulation yourself. Injecting yourself is not so convenient, but you can learn how to do a medical procedure if you know the basic nuances.
- Choose the right pose. Usually they stand in front of a mirror, relaxing the side in which the injection will be given (bend the leg at the knees, resting on the other limb). You can give injections while lying down, but it is recommended to lie on your side.
- Confidently insert the needle. To do this, you need to take the syringe with your right hand and with a sharp movement inject into a previously prepared place on the buttock. Slowly squeeze out the medicine.
- Complete the procedure correctly. Remove the needle sharply and treat the puncture area with cotton wool and alcohol (vodka). Massage thoroughly.
It is important not to give injections if the skin on the upper part of the gluteal muscle is covered with acne or other damage. To avoid infection, it is recommended to inject the medicine into the muscle on the thigh.
If an injection in the buttock is given incorrectly - complications
Incorrectly given injections can provoke serious consequences:
- vascular damage, which is accompanied by hematomas and abscesses;
- development of compactions and bumps due to poor absorption of the drug;
- inflammation in soft tissues as a result of infection;
- fat or air embolism (air entering a capillary).
If the injection is given incorrectly, a hematoma may appear on the buttock
If after the injection your buttock hurts, your leg goes numb, or an allergic reaction occurs (redness, swelling), we are talking about improper administration of the medicine. To prevent complications, it is recommended to consult a doctor.
What happens if you give an injection with air?
Hit small quantity air into the muscle or intercellular space during an injection is not dangerous. As a result, an air infiltrate (compaction, bumps) may occur, which hurts and becomes inflamed. To alleviate the condition, draw iodine nets, apply soda compresses, and cabbage leaves.
If air gets into the capillary, the small vessel dies. This is not harmful to health, but still refers to the undesirable consequences of an injection with air.
Injecting the buttock yourself is not difficult if you follow all the rules of the specific procedure. If the recommendations are not followed, lumps and lumps may form, which may be accompanied by infection and inflammation. It is important to pay attention to negative deviations in time to prevent the formation of abscesses.
Intramuscular injections are a fairly commonly prescribed method of administering medications. After the injection, a depot of the injected solution is created in the muscles, which helps maintain the same concentration active substance for the required time, and a well-developed circulatory system in the muscle fibers allows the medicine to be quickly and completely absorbed.
The gluteal muscles are thick enough to allow an injection without fear of damaging the periosteum. In addition, the main large neurovascular bundles in the buttocks area run deep, and the chances of damaging them are much less than when injecting the medicine into other muscles.
What syringe and needle should I use for the injection?
To inject the medicine into the gluteal muscle, use a syringe equal in volume to the injected solution. Children are usually administered medications in a volume of 1 or 2 ml, for adults it is most often 5 ml, less often 10 ml. It is not recommended to inject more than 10 ml into the muscle, as this will complicate the absorption of the medicine and can lead to suppuration of the injection site. It is preferable to choose a needle for intramuscular injections with a length of 4-6 cm to prevent too deep administration of the drug and not to injure deep-lying large vessels and nerves.
Which part of the buttock should I inject?
Choose for injection outer part buttocks in the upper part. In order not to make a mistake, you need to mentally divide the buttock into 4 identical quadrants (as doctors call square areas). The middle of the upper outer quadrant is suitable for injection.
The injection area can also be determined in this way: if you step back 5-8 cm from the most protruding level of the pelvic bones (iliac crest), this will be a safe area for the injection.
What medications can be injected into the buttock?
You can give an injection in the buttock with either aqueous or oil solutions intended for intramuscular injection (this must be indicated in the annotation for the drug).
Before drawing the medicine into the syringe, it is recommended to hold the ampoule in your hand for a while to warm it up to body temperature, since warm solution easier to administer and faster to dissolve.
When administering an oil-based medication, it is important to ensure that the needle does not enter the vessel. To do this, you need to pull the plunger towards you and see if blood flows into the syringe. If there is no blood, you can safely introduce the solution gradually. However, if blood appears in the syringe, you need to choose another injection site (you can do it in the same buttock, 1-2 cm away from the first puncture).
How to give an injection correctly?
- Lay the patient down on his stomach, free his buttocks from clothing. If a person gives an injection to himself, then it is allowed to do this while standing, taking into account the fact that the leg on the side of the injection must be relaxed. To do this, you need to bend it at the knee and transfer your body weight to the other leg.
- Wash your hands with antibacterial soap or disinfect your skin with an antiseptic to prevent infection at the injection site.
- The person who will give the injection must wear disposable medical gloves to protect themselves from possible blood from the wound getting onto the skin.
- Wipe the intended injection site (several centimeters in diameter) with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.
- The syringe is held with one hand (for right-handed people this is right hand) so that the thumb and forefinger hold the piston, and the remaining fingers hold the syringe barrel.
- With the other hand, stretch the skin near the puncture site. If the injection is being given to a child or thin adult with poorly developed gluteal muscles, use your fingers to gather the skin and muscle into a large fold.
- The syringe needle is inserted with a quick movement into the desired area to a depth of up to ¾ of its length, strictly perpendicular to the skin.
- Gradually pressing the plunger of the syringe releases the medicine. At the same time, the slower you inject the solution, the more painless the injection will feel.
- With a sharp movement (in the direction opposite to the insertion of the syringe), the needle is removed from the muscle, and cotton wool with alcohol is applied to the injection site.
What complications can there be?
After an injection (especially after the administration of antibiotics and some vitamins), a difficult-to-absorbable infiltrate may form (popularly called a “bump”). To avoid this, it is necessary to inject the medicine into the muscle as slowly as possible, and also avoid constant injections into only one buttock.
To improve the absorption of the medicine, it is recommended to draw an iodine grid on the resulting “bumps” or apply a fresh cabbage leaf. If the injection site becomes very red and painful, and your body temperature rises, you should see a surgeon to rule out a post-injection abscess.
The most serious complication from improper injection of medication into the buttock is sciatic nerve palsy. If a sharp pain appears along the back of the thigh in the first seconds of the injection, you must immediately stop administering the medicine and pull out the needle.
If you follow all the listed rules of asepsis and intramuscular injection techniques, then giving an injection in the buttock will be a fairly simple and easily accomplished task, even at home.
