Injectable medications have come a long way. After all, the FDA recently approved an HIV pre-exposure prevention treatment. This approval allowed for more avenues to cure this severe illness.
Regardless of your condition, using self injection treatments could be daunting. It’s a nerve-wracking process, especially when you have no experience doing it on your own.
Do you want a solid starting point? If so, read on as we discuss how to give self injections.
1. Be Honest With Your Physician
The first step on how to give yourself a shot is to admit your anxiety. As a patient, you will feel anxious. Expressing it to your physician allows them to make the best treatment for your physical and mental wellness.
Healthcare providers can’t read your mind. It applies even when they are observant. They can’t give tips for injecting yourself if you never speak up.
2. Let the Pharmacist Demonstrate Injection Tips
Your pharmacist is a gold mine of information on how to give self injections. They are willing to help you become more familiar and comfortable with your equipment. Ask them to walk you through every step.
Allowing them to watch you give an injection makes you get used to your tools. It also ensures you’ll inject the correct medication amount. After all, drug overdose fatalities from illegal and prescription medications aren’t as rare as you think.
3. Get the Correct Equipment
Another reason to talk to your pharmacist is to learn the right length and gauge of needles. It ensures a safe and accurate medication administration. Some require varying needle sizes to draw up the medicine.
Keep an inventory of your home supplies and notify the pharmacist when you only have a week’s supply left. Needles for injections are one-time use. They lose their sharpness after penetrating your skin.
If you use blunt needles, the injections are more painful. It could also result in skin and muscle damage. Also, consider getting Chrom Tech syringe filters to prevent impurities.
4. Set Your Table Before the Injection
Arrange all the necessary supplies within arm’s length. It allows you to remember every step while streamlining the process. If you feel anxious, consider playing some relaxing music or lighting a scented candle.
5. Learn Your Technique
Your familiarity with specific injection techniques is essential in the self injection process. Discover whether the injection is into the muscle or under the skin. The former often means poking your thigh muscle while the latter is looking for a fat layer under the skin.
Regardless of the technique, wash your hands and clean your area. If you bleed after the injection, use a cotton ball and press the area for 30 seconds. Put a band-aid to ensure total healing.
Start With Self Injection Now
We hope you learned some self injection techniques through our guide. Never let your anxiety get the best of you. Combat it with the knowledge to ensure the process is quick, painless, and accurate.
Did you find this guide helpful? If so, consider exploring our other posts today.