How to Give Heparin SQ

Heparin is an anticoagulant, or blood thinner medication that is given by injection. It is administered subcutaneously, meaning, it is given under the skin. Heparin is administered in the abdomen. Heparin is give to prevent blood clots, or to prevent them from getting larger. Heparin is given in a hospital or acute care setting by a health care professional. Coumadin is the blood thinner that is often given to the patient when he is discharged from the hospital, as patients are rarely sent home with a heparin prescription. Coumadin is an oral medication.

Things You'll Need

• Hypodermic needle
• Syringe
• Alcohol swab
• Plastic or latex gloves

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Instructions

• 1

  Confirm the physician's order. Never give heparin unless you have confirmed the proper patient, dosage and route with the order. Medications errors occur frequently, and by checking the doctor's order, you can minimize the incidence an error.

• 2

  Check the patient's hospital band. Make sure you are giving the heparin to the right patient. Always make sure you check their hospital band and ask the patient what their name is. If you do not check, you risk giving heparin to the wrong patient.

• 3

  Wash your hands. Before administering any type of medication, you must always wash your hands. Even if you are wearing gloves, it is still important that your hands be clean. This will cut down on cross contamination and risk of spreading germs to your patients.

• 4

  Put on gloves. After washing your hands, put on plastic or latex gloves. This will protect both you and your patient. It protects your patient from germs that may be on your hands, and it protects you from blood splatters.

• 5

  Cleanse the abdomen with an alcohol swab. Make sure you do this gently, and do not rub the site harshly. This step helps remove germs and bacteria that may be on the skin. This is important because you do not want to introduce bacteria into the blood system when you are giving the heparin injection.

• 6

  Gently pinch the abdominal together with your fingers to create a thick skin fold. By pinching the skin and creating the skin fold, you will minimize the risk of bruising when you inject the heparin.

• 7

  Instruct your patient to take a deep breath and relax. As your patient is inhaling, insert the needle at 90 degrees into the skin fold that you have created with your fingers and inject the heparin slowly.

• 8

  Release the skin, and withdraw the syringe slowly. Apply gentle pressure to the site with an alcohol pad for a couple of minutes. Never rub the skin after the injection.

• 9

  Dispose of the needle into a proper medical waste container without recapping the needle, and remove your gloves. Wash your hands thoroughly.