NARRATOR: THIS VIDEO WILL SHOW YOU
HOW TO GIVE A SUBCUTANEOUS, OR "SUB-Q," INJECTION.
"SUBCUTANEOUS" MEANS "BELOW THE SKIN."
TO GIVE A SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION,
YOU STICK A SMALL NEEDLE
INTO THE FATTY TISSUE JUST BELOW THE SKIN
AND INJECT THE MEDICINE THERE.
SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTIONS ARE USED
FOR ALL SORTS OF HEALTH PROBLEMS,
SUCH AS DIABETES, ANEMIA, AND PROBLEMS WITH BLOOD CLOTTING.
THE MEDICINES USED FOR SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION
ARE PACKAGED IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS.
SOME MEDICINES COME IN AUTO-INJECTORS OR PENS,
LIKE THIS ONE.
AUTO-INJECTORS ALREADY HAVE THE MEDICINE LOADED INSIDE THEM.
OTHERS COME IN TRADITIONAL SYRINGES
PRE-FILLED WITH MEDICINE.
AND STILL OTHERS COME IN VIALS.
YOU WITHDRAW THE MEDICINE YOU NEED
FROM THE VIAL EACH TIME YOU GIVE YOURSELF AN INJECTION.
EVEN THE MEDICINE CAN COME IN DIFFERENT FORMS.
MOST OF THE TIME, THE MEDICINE COMES IN LIQUID FORM.
SOMETIMES, HOWEVER, THE MEDICINE COMES AS A POWDER.
THIS HAS TO BE MIXED WITH A LIQUID,
SUCH AS SALINE OR DISTILLED WATER,
BEFORE YOU CAN USE IT.
IF YOUR MEDICINE NEEDS TO BE KEPT IN THE REFRIGERATOR,
IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO LET IT COME UP TO ROOM TEMPERATURE
BEFORE GIVING YOURSELF THE INJECTION.
THE INJECTION MIGHT BE MORE PAINFUL IF THE MEDICINE IS COLD.
START BY WASHING YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WARM WATER.
BEFORE GIVING THE INJECTION, CHECK YOUR SUPPLIES
TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED.
YOU'LL NEED ALCOHOL PADS
OR COTTON SWABS DIPPED IN RUBBING ALCOHOL,
A DISPOSABLE SYRINGE,
THE VIAL OF MEDICINE YOU'LL BE USING,
ADHESIVE BANDAGES,
AND A CONTAINER TO SAFELY GET RID OF THE USED SYRINGE.
SUB-Q INJECTIONS CAN BE GIVEN IN DIFFERENT PLACES,
LIKE THE UPPER ARM, UPPER THIGH, OUTER HIP, OR THE ABDOMEN.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO AVOID GIVING THE INJECTION
IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT EVERY TIME.
YOU SHOULD AVOID INJECTING ANY SPOT
THAT'S BRUISED, TENDER, OR SCARRED.
THE SYRINGE IS MADE OF 3 BASIC PARTS:
A BARREL, A PLUNGER,
AND A NEEDLE.
THE BARREL HAS MARKINGS ON THE SIDE.
THESE HELP YOU MEASURE THE RIGHT DOSE.
INSULIN SYRINGES, LIKE THIS ONE,
ARE NORMALLY MARKED IN UNITS.
OTHER SYRINGES MAY BE MARKED IN MILLILITERS.
YOUR DOCTOR, NURSE, OR PHARMACIST
WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO USE THE MARKINGS
ON THE SYRINGE YOU HAVE.
CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATE ON YOUR MEDICINE.
IF YOU HAVE A NEW VIAL, IT MAY COME WITH A PLASTIC CAP.
POP THAT OFF FIRST.
THEN WIPE THE TOP OF THE VIAL WITH AN ALCOHOL PAD OR SWAB
AND LET IT DRY FOR A FEW SECONDS.
NEXT, TAKE THE CAP OFF THE PLUNGER.
NOW DRAW AIR INTO THE SYRINGE
BY PULLING THE PLUNGER BACK TO THE PRESCRIBED UNIT MARK.
THEN VERY CAREFULLY UNCAP THE SYRINGE
AND SET THE CAP ASIDE.
NOW STICK THE NEEDLE THROUGH THE TOP OF THE VIAL.
FLIP THE NEEDLE AND VIAL OVER,
AND INJECT THE AIR INTO THE VIAL
BY SLOWLY PUSHING THE PLUNGER ALL THE WAY IN.
NOW SLOWLY PULL THE PLUNGER BACK DOWN
TO THE PRESCRIBED UNIT MARK.
MAKE SURE THE NEEDLE IS UNDER THE SURFACE OF THE MEDICINE.
IF YOU NOTICE ANY LARGE AIR BUBBLES
IN THE BARREL OF THE SYRINGE,
YOU NEED TO REMOVE THEM.
YOU DO THIS BY PUSHING THE PLUNGER IN AGAIN,
SENDING THE MEDICINE BACK INTO THE VIAL.
THEN YOU SLOWLY DRAW THE RIGHT AMOUNT OUT ONCE MORE.
CLEAN THE SKIN WITH AN ALCOHOL SWAB.
GRAB A PINCH OF SKIN BETWEEN THE THUMB AND FOREFINGER
OF YOUR OTHER HAND.
POSITION THE NEEDLE SO IT'S POINTING STRAIGHT AT THE SKIN.
WITH A FIRM, SMOOTH MOTION,
PUSH THE NEEDLE THROUGH THE SKIN
INTO THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SKIN AND THE MUSCLE BELOW.
SHIFT YOUR THUMB TO THE PLUNGER
AND SLOWLY PUSH IT ALL THE WAY IN.
COUNT TO 3 TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SYRINGE IS COMPLETELY EMPTY,
THEN PULL THE NEEDLE STRAIGHT OUT.
PUT THE USED SYRINGE INTO A SHARPS CONTAINER.
IT'S EASY TO PUT NEEDLES IN AND HARD FOR THEM TO FALL OUT.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A READY-MADE SHARPS CONTAINER,
YOU CAN MAKE ONE USING A JAR OR BOTTLE
MADE OF STIFF PLASTIC WITH A SCREW-ON CAP.
ONE EXAMPLE IS A DETERGENT BOTTLE.
LABEL IT VERY CLEARLY AS "DANGEROUS."
ANYONE WHO SEES IT WILL KNOW TO LEAVE IT ALONE.
YOU SHOULD KEEP THE CONTAINER IN A SAFE PLACE,
OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN AND PETS.
IF YOUR MEDICINE NEEDS TO BE REFRIGERATED,
BE SURE TO PUT IT BACK IN THE REFRIGERATOR.
EVERYTHING ELSE CAN BE THROWN OUT NORMALLY.
SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTIONS MAY SEEM SCARY,
BUT AS YOU'VE JUST SEEN,
YOU ONLY NEED TO FOLLOW A FEW SIMPLE STEPS.