How to give an IM injection: complete guide

Complete guide on how to give an IM injection covers every aspect of how to give intramuscular injections, step by step to guide you through.

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CONTENTS
Where to inject drugs for intramuscular administration
How to give an IM injection: overview
How to give an IM injection: Location selection
How to give an IM injection: step by step
How to give an IM injection: Injection preparation
How to give an IM injection: Training and practising
How to give an IM injection: Step by step for injections in the buttocks
How to give an IM injection: How to inject yourself
How to give an IM injection: Self-injection in the buttocks
How to give an IM injection:How to give injections to children
How to give an IM injection:Injection technique with children

Among the various methods of introducing drugs into the human body, intramuscular injections rank second in the frequency of use (after tablet forms). This is due to the fact that the technique of making such injections is as simple as possible compared to other injections, and the injected drug quickly gets into the blood without many side effects, so it is useful in these cases to know how to give an IM injection.

It is known that when some pills are taken (for example, antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs based on diclofenac) the stomach is irritated or the reproduction of beneficial intestinal microflora is inhibited, and the intramuscular administration of these drugs minimizes such side effects.

Where to inject for intramuscular administration

The drug is injected intramuscularly into only the large muscles – the buttocks, anterolateral surface of the thigh muscles, and the deltoid of the shoulder. Injected into the leg or buttocks even more often. Some vaccines are injected into the shoulder muscles, as well as first aid drugs (pain relievers, anti-shock) in emergencies when there is no time or opportunity to introduce the drug differently.

In most cases, they try to inject intramuscularly into the upper outer part of the buttocks, since this is the area where the muscle tissue is thickest and the least chance of damaging a large nerve or blood vessel. The gluteal muscles have a well-developed capillary network so that the medicine quickly gets into the general bloodstream.

To choose the injection site, the buttocks are mentally divided into four parts, choosing the upper outer area. Then find about the middle of this area (this is usually 5-7 cm below the level of the protruding parts of the ilium) – this is the point of the proposed injection.

An alternative to the gluteal region with intramuscular injections is the lateral broad muscle of the thigh. Injections in the thigh are carried out if, due to a long course of treatment with intramuscular preparations, seals have formed on both buttocks or abscesses in the buttocks due to improper administration of the drug. The hip area is also preferred by many self-injecting patients as not all patients can insert the body on the buttocks (especially if you need an injection for sciatica or rheumatism).

In this case, the thigh surface is more easily accessible for insertion. To choose the injection site, you need to put your hand on the front of the thigh so that the fingertips touch the knee. The area of ​​the thigh muscle under the palm of the hand (closer to the wrist) is the optimal place for drug delivery. Sewing in the thigh above or below this area as well as behind or on the inside of the leg is strictly prohibited due to the high risk of hitting large vessels and nerves.

When injecting a child or thin adult, before injecting, grasp the estimated area of ​​introduction into the large skin-muscle fold and feel the muscle under your fingers to make sure that the needle hits the muscle accurately.

How to give an intramuscular injection

1. Only disposable syringes and needles should be used with intramuscular injections to avoid infection with bloodborne infections (HIV, hepatitis B, C, D). The syringe is unpacked immediately before the injection and the tip of the needle is not removed until the ampoule with the medicine is opened.The volume of the syringe is selected based on the volume of drug administered as well as the injection site. If it is injected into the thigh, then it is better to use a 2.0-5.0 ml syringe with a thin needle, if it is injected into the buttocks – 5.0 ml, and for people with a pronounced subcutaneous Fat layer – 10.0 ml. It is not recommended to inject more than 10 ml of the drug into the muscle so as not to form infiltrates that are difficult to absorb.
2. You must give an injection with clean, washed antibacterial soap or hands treated with disinfectant and in a suitable room. At home, the best places are where wet cleaning is done frequently or where there are no sources of dust and dirt.
3. It is recommended that the patient be given an injection in the supine position so that the muscles of the buttocks or thighs are as relaxed as possible. If you have to give an injection while standing, make sure that there is no strain on the leg you are being stabbed in. To do this, you need to bend it slightly in the knee and transfer the body weight to the other leg.
4. Open the medicine vial and put it in the syringe. Hold the finished syringe in one hand and use the other hand to treat the site of the intended injection within a 5 cm radius with a piece of cotton wool soaked in alcohol.

1. With a quick motion, guide the needle perpendicular to the surface of the skin in an alcohol-treated area to a depth of 3 to 5 cm (for the buttocks) or in a direction at a slight angle to the skin to a depth of 2 to 3 cm (for the thigh) a. The needle should stay 1/3 of its length above the skin so that it can be removed if it is broken. While slowly depressing the plunger, administer the medicine.When an oil solution is injected, you must pull the plunger slightly towards you before injecting the drug into the muscle to make sure you do not get into the blood vessel. If there is severe intolerant pain, stop administering the drug and withdraw the needle.
2. After all of the medication has been administered with a sharp wave of the hand, you need to pull the needle out of the muscle against the injection, and then apply a cotton wool moistened with alcohol to the injection site. It is impossible to rub and massage the injection site immediately after the injection, as this can lead to microtrauma of the capillaries and improper absorption of the drug.
3. Put a cap on the used needle to prevent accidental injection, remove the needle from the syringe and pull out the plunger. Throw the disassembled syringe into a special container or container.

It is not the patient himself, but the specialist with medical training who decides in each case which route of administration is the best in order to select the optimal form of drug administration. In addition, when performing the first intramuscular injections at home, try to invite a doctor to evaluate the correctness of the technique and correct possible mistakes in self-administered injections.

Despite the simplicity of the technique of performing intramuscular injections, you should not resort to them inappropriately often, especially if it is possible to get the same medicine in the form of tablets.

One of the most common places where injections are often given is the buttocks. Compared to many other places on the body, these injections are very convenient and painless. However, you just need to understand how to properly perform such an injection. This is not that difficult if you understand the basic principle. First, you need a special syringe with a long needle. Don’t use short needles, they focus on subcutaneous or intravenous administration, which is not entirely suitable. After that, you have to go all right and figure out how to properly put such an injection in the buttocks – and it doesn’t matter whether you want to give it to adults or children.

Location selection

First you need to understand where to inject. It is very important not to make a mistake, otherwise you run the risk of damaging the sciatic nerve. And this can be fraught with very unpleasant consequences, from which it is difficult to recover, especially for children. However, there is a simple, effective technique that can help find a place for an optimal injection. You just have to mentally divide one of the buttocks parts into four parts. And the top quarter, which is closer to the edge, is where you need to give injections. If it is mentally difficult, you can cheat cunningly and use zelenka or iodine to visually identify where to inject. Then over time it gets easier, you will stab the buttocks with no outside cues.

It is important that the patient who is given an injection in the ass (it doesn’t matter if adults or children do it) lie because then all muscles are relaxed and therefore the injection will not become as painful, which is very important is. In fact, when a person puts strain on the gluteus muscles, it can be dangerous. Then it may happen that the needle from the syringe that falls up the ass breaks due to the hardness of the muscle. The weaker the muscles, the better. And too much stress is bad.

How to give an IM injection: step by step

Think about how to correctly give a similar injection. To get it right for adults or children, it is necessary to perform the correct order of actions. Here’s how to get good shots:

1. First, wash your hands, wash them as thoroughly as possible so that they do not have the slightest contamination. Sterility is important when injected.
2. It is necessary to take an ampoule prepared to inject. The capsule is shaken a little, after which you need to carefully click on it with the tip of the nail so that no drug remains in the outermost part of the ampoule. Then the fleece is moistened with alcohol and the tip of the ampoule rubbed on it.
3. Next, you need to take an ampoule nail file, which is usually included in the kit – and spend a couple of times on the tip. If everything is done correctly, this tip will break off easily without leaving any fragments.
4. Now you need to get the syringe out of a sterile package. A needle is placed directly on the syringe in the cap.
5. Next, the cap is removed from the needle and the medicine is drawn into the syringe.
6. The syringe will rise vertically, then tap it lightly with a fingernail so you can lift any air bubbles there. Then the air is deflated from the syringe – they press the plunger until small droplets of medicine appear on the tip of the needle, then everything is done correctly.
7. Next, the needle is closed with a cap and the site where the injection was made in the ass is wiped with a cotton swab previously moistened with alcohol.
8. The area where you want to give injections is slightly stretched / compressed to relieve the pain when stabbing. While this is a completely optional step.
9. A sharp movement of the needle is inserted almost the entire length. If you don’t enter it all the way, there is a good chance it simply won’t reach the muscle and the medicine will be injected under the skin. This is harmful and can lead to severe inflammation.
10. Then the drug is slowly introduced, and the needle is sharply removed – the injection site is squeezed with a cotton swab moistened with alcohol.

Of course, it is better for professionals to do injections, they prick much more literally. It’s harder to inject yourself.

Injection into the buttocks with a syringe (intramuscular injection) is the most convenient and safest way to administer a drug solution parenterally.

The gluteal muscle is a massive layer of tissue that is where the drug depot is formed, and an abundant blood supply allows you to quickly distribute the drug throughout the body.

The anatomical feature of this area is the minimal number of nerve endings that contribute to the painless penetration of the solution into the tissue.

Injection preparation

Before giving the intramuscular injection, hands (or medical gloves) must be disinfected and the injection site treated.

For these purposes, antiseptics are used: ethyl alcohol, Manorm or alcohol wipes. The use of vodka or cologne is allowed at home.

On a clean surface, place a disposable syringe with a needle in the package, an ampoule with medication, an opening nail file, cotton wool or alcohol wipes.

For intramuscular injections, 5 ml syringes are used, 2 ml for young children. Adults should take the drug as deeply as possible so as not to cause severe pain and inflammation after administration.

The main condition for manipulation is compliance with aseptic rules and the choice of the injection site. In order to correctly inject an intramuscular injection into the buttocks, you must adhere to the following sequence:

The next drug is injected into another buttock or receding 1-2 cm from the previous injection site.

In fact, for some it is preferable to inject in the thigh rather than the buttocks. Please choose what you like best. Sit in a chair, bare your thigh, choose the area you want and the approximate point where you will enter the needle. Next, do the same thing as you did when injecting it into the buttocks.

If you are prescribed 10 injections and do them daily, alternate the right and left sides. So you need to do intramuscular injections. There is nothing complicated about it. Learn and act. However, it is better not to bring your health to the need for treatment. Prevention is always cheaper and painless for a person. Everything is in your hands.

In the article I will tell you how to correctly give injections in the buttocks to adults and children, indicate their classification, share some effective tips and useful recommendations.

Not all drugs are injected into the body through the oral cavity. Some drugs in the stomach break down, irritate the mucous membrane, and are absorbed by the blood for a long time.

With the advent of single-use syringes, injections have become much easier. Injections are made into veins, muscles, or under the skin. When intravenous injections involve the presence of practice, skill, and knowledge of the human anatomy, intramuscular and subcutaneous injections can easily be administered independently at home.

First, practice on a doll – a toy or a pillow. Such training will help ease the excitement and safely insert the needle. Once you have acquired certain skills, you can practice on a living person. I note that the article only gives general recommendations and injections are best given in a medical facility.

Training and practising

1. Use a rubber toy, an empty syringe and a needle as a model.
2. Fill the syringe with air or water. Pull the plunger all the way towards you.
3. Hold the syringe on the base with your right hand.
4. Select a convex area on the model and inject at right angles to the surface.
5. After inserting the needle, gently and slowly push the contents of the syringe out.
6. Hold the needle with your middle finger and pull it out by pulling the syringe towards you.

Practice until you learn how to insert the needle all the way without stopping or jerking it.

Injection preparation

1. Wash hands thoroughly with soap. The fingers are treated with an alcohol swab.
2. Take a disposable syringe and attach the needle.
3. Saw the ampoule with the drug and remove the top edge with an alcohol cotton ball. Glass fragments do not get into the ampoule.
4. Remove the needle cap and take the medicine slowly.
5. Let the air out of the syringe while gently pressing the plunger. As a result, only the medicine remains inside.

Step by step for injections in the buttocks

Getting an injection for the first time in life is not that easy. It will take courage and determination. It is not uncommon for doctors to prescribe multiple intramuscular injections to patients. No doubt you will not run to the clinic. There is only one way out – to entrust the task to a loved one.

I will tell you how to make injections in the buttocks so that there is minimal damage to the patient’s nervous system. The main thing is attention and patience.

1. Ask the patient to lie down and relax the gluteal muscles. Otherwise, pain cannot be avoided.
2. Determine the needle insertion point. Divide the buttocks into 4 areas and inject in the upper upper part.
3. Treat the selected area with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.
4. Saw the top of the ampoule of medicine with a nail file and break off the tip.
5. Withdraw the medication into the syringe, turn the needle up and gently tap the base. The air rises and removes it by gently pressing the piston.
6. The needle is inserted sharply and vertically to relieve pain. Pull the needle slightly towards you to avoid entering a blood vessel.
7. The therapeutic agent is administered slowly and smoothly.
8. The needle should be removed sharply at a right angle. Push down on the injection site with an alcohol swab. At the end of the procedure, the patient should lie down a little so that the medicine disappears.

How to inject yourself

Traditionally, someone else gives the injection. However, some try to do the procedure themselves.

It must be ensured that the injection is carried out under hygienic conditions. Otherwise you can get an infection. No wonder that many people go to hospitals for injections, where they are kept clean. If dust gets on the needle, which is not something in any apartment, the chances of infection are high.

Self-injection in the buttocks

1. You will need an ampoule with medication, alcohol, a cotton swab and a syringe.
2. Bare the buttocks and visually divide them into 4 parts. An injection is given into the upper left side of the buttocks.
3. Cut into the ampoule and break off the top. Take the syringe out of the package, remove the cap, insert the needle into the ampoule and collect the medicine.
4. Make sure that the air is released from the syringe.
5. Wipe the area of ​​the buttocks with a cotton ball moistened with alcohol.
6. Take the syringe and insert the needle at a right angle for 70% of its length.
7. It remains to slowly introduce the drug, remove the needle and apply an alcoholic cotton swab.

How to give an IM injection: to children

Sometimes treating a child involves administering drugs intramuscularly. We recommend that you contact a professional nurse.

When the opportunity to invite a qualified doctor is lacking, the opportunity to give injections is helpful.

If the doctor has prescribed the offspring, then you need to go to the pharmacy and get everything you need. The list of things includes:

• the drug
• disposable syringe
• medical alcohol

preparation

1. Treat your hands with soap or disinfectant.
2. Intramuscular injections are usually done in the ass. Divide the child’s buttocks into 4 segments to determine the injection site. Injection in the upper outer part.
3. Keep your confidence and calm. The ease of needle entry depends on it.
4. When the medication is liquid, open the ampoule, unwrap the syringe, attach the needle, and collect the medication. If the medicine is powdered, premix it with water.
5. Remove air bubbles from the syringe. Shake the syringe and gently push the plunger. If a drop of the drug appears at the end of the needle, use a swab to remove it.

Injection technique with children

1. Gently massage the buttocks. Massage in with warm hands without straining the massaged muscles.
2. The injection site must be wiped with an alcohol swab.
3. With your left hand, collect the skin of the buttocks in a small fold.
4. Insert the needle with a sharp movement at a right angle. 75% of the needle should go into the buttocks.
5. Press down on the plunger with your thumb and slowly inject the drug.
6. Attach an alcohol swab to the point of entry of the needle, quickly remove it and cover the resulting puncture with a swab.

It is important for the patient to lie so that the muscles relax and the needle penetrates painlessly. If the muscles contract, the needle can break or bend.

1. Wash hands thoroughly.
2. Shake the vial, tap the tip and wipe it with a cotton swab.
3. There is a nail file in every crustacean with ampoules. She sawed the neck of the ampoule in a circle and, after pressing a little, broke off the end.
4. Take a syringe, attach a needle, remove the cap and take medication.
5. Hold the syringe upright with the needle pointing up. To release air bubbles, just tap the syringe with a fingernail. Gently push the plunger until a drop of medicine appears at the end of the needle.
6. The injection site should be treated with alcohol.
7. Stretch the skin at the injection point a little to prevent the patient from feeling pain while inserting the needle.
8. It is recommended to enter the needle almost to the base with one safe movement.
9. Do not rush to administer the drug.
10. Pull out the needle and press an alcohol swab over the injection site.

Dr Frances Knowler-Benning is an accomplished pediatrician with a midwife training specialty, who believes the healthy early years are crucial to life.