What happens if intramuscular injection is done wrong?

The microbes in injection substances, injection equipment or already-existing on the skin, can enter the body causing very serious infections. Similarly, incorrect injection techniques or erroneous injection locations, can cause blood vessel breakage, muscle or nerve damage and paralysis.

Can intramuscular injections cause damage?

Iatrogenic injuries due to intramuscular (IM) injection, although less frequently reported than before, are still common. The sciatic nerve is the most commonly injured nerve because of an IM injection owing to its large size and the buttock being a common injection site.

What happens if you give an IM injection too low?

One of the most common errors in IM injection is introducing the needle either too high on the shoulder or too low on the arm. Injections given too high (into the shoulder joint) or too low (into tendons and soft tissue) have the possibility of leading to serious shoulder or arm pain that can last several months.

What happens if IM injection hits nerve?

Other injection site events

If a nerve is hit, the patient will feel an immediate burning pain, which can result in paralysis or neuropathy that does not always resolve.

Can you hit a nerve when giving an IM injection?

Where you give the injection is very important. The medicine needs to go into muscle. You do not want to hit a nerve or a blood vessel. So show your health care provider how you will choose where you will put the needle, to make sure you can find a safe spot.

What happens if you hit sciatic nerve with injection?

Sciatic nerve injury from an intramuscular (IM) injection into the buttock is potentially devastating. In severe cases, the hamstrings and all the muscles below the knee are paralysed resulting in a flail numb foot.

What should I do after intramuscular injection?

To reduce the pain and fear associated with regular injections, try numbing the injection site with ice and/or a numbing cream. Talk with your healthcare provider about the best sites for intramuscular or subcutaneous injections, and rotate the injection site if there is any pain or bruising.

What happens if you hit a blood vessel while injecting?

Hitting an artery can be painful and dangerous. Arterial blood travels away from the heart so whatever is injected goes straight to body limbs and extremities. Injection particles get stuck in blood capillaries and cut off circulation. This can result in a lack of blood flow, eventually causing the tissue to die.

What are the causes and signs symptoms of axillary nerve injury?

Axillary nerve injury symptoms include:
  • Shoulder or arm muscle weakness.
  • Shoulder or arm muscle wasting.
  • Numbness in your arm.
  • Tingling in your arm.
  • Loss of feeling in your arm or hand.
  • Trouble lifting your arm.
  • Limp hanging arm.
  • Pain.

How do you give a painless IM injection?

How do I give myself a painless injection?

Put an ice pack on the spot where you’re going to inject yourself. This will numb it. Try to relax the muscle before you give yourself the shot. If the thought of “sticking” yourself makes you uncomfortable, rest the needle against your skin and then push to insert the needle.

Do you draw back when giving an IM injection?

It is common practice to draw back on a syringe after the needle is inserted to check whether it is in a blood vessel. While it is important to aspirate if the DG muscle site is used – because of proximity to the gluteal artery – it is not required for other IM injection sites (PHE, 2013; Malkin, 2008).

How far does the needle go in for IM injection?

Intramuscular (IM) injections

Needle length is usually 1″–1½”, 22–25 gauge, but a longer or shorter needle may be needed depending on the patient’s weight. Note: An alternate site for IM injection in adults is the anterolateral thigh muscle.

How far do you insert needle for intramuscular injection?

The needle should be long enough to reach the muscle without penetrating the nerves and blood vessels underneath. Generally, needles should be 1 inch to 1.5 inches for an adult, and will be smaller for a child.

Do you squeeze skin for IM injection?

Insert needle at an 45o angle to the skin. Pinch up on SQ tissue to prevent injecting into muscle.

Do you massage im injections?

Deep, firm massage of muscle tissue following an intramuscular injection favors the spread of the depot over a wider tissue area so favoring the absorption rate.

Does the needle have to go all the way in?

injection site? Answer: Yes, the needle needs to go in all the way.

Can you give 2 ml in deltoid?

Deltoid Muscle

This site is used for small medication volumes (2 ml or less)8 and for administration of routine immunizations in children older than 3 years with acceptable muscle mass and development and when other sites are inaccessible because of dressings or casts.

Why is the deltoid used for injections?

For instance, many vaccines are injected in the deltoid because it is close to lymph nodes located just under the armpit. When vaccines are given in the thigh, the lymph vessels don’t have far to travel to reach the cluster of lymph nodes in the groin.

Why IM injection is painful?

Pain arising from this kind of injection generally arises from leakage of the medication and from damage to the subcutaneous tissue [3] . Excessive fatty tissue causes the medication not to be absorbed completely, and this causes more pain. …

How do you give an IM injection in the gluteal muscle?

Are deltoid injections safe?

IM injections for vaccination practice in the deltoid muscle can be safely performed without risking injury to the axillary nerve, PCHA, subacromial/subdeltoid bursa, musculocutaneous nerve, or radial nerve.