How to Use a Hypodermic Needle to Inject Drugs

A hypodermic needle is a sharp, hollow instrument that connects to a syringe and is commonly used to inject liquid drugs or medications directly into the skin (under the dermis) or into a vessel, or sometimes for extracting blood. When you need to get drugs into the body quickly and rapidly, a hypodermic needle is the best course of action.

Things You'll Need

• Syringe
• Latex gloves
• Alcohol swab

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Instructions

• 1

  Wash your hands thoroughly and put on latex gloves.

• 2

  Choose the needle gauge (size of the needle) according to the drug that you want to administer, and attach the needle to the syringe.

• 3

  Determine the drug dosage. Before filling the syringe with the drug, fill it with an amount of air that is equal to the size of the drug dosage. For instance, if the drug dosage is 5mL, fill the syringe with 5mL of air. Once you've filled the syringe with the allotted amount of air, inject it into the drug vial (the container in which the drug comes). Turn the vial upside-down and fill the syringe with the drug dosage. With the vial turned upside-down, the air inside will rise to the top, which helps you get an exact amount of medicine without bubbles in it.

• 4

  Choose an injection site. Try to find a site that hasn't been used recently, because overusing a site can be painful.

• 5

  Clean the injection site with an alcohol swab.

• 6

  Pinch the skin at the injection site and insert the needle at a 45- to 90-degree angle. Inject the drug slowly until the syringe is empty.

• 7

  Remove the needle and dispose of it. Wipe off the injection site and cover it with a small adhesive bandage.