Why Change Injection Needle After Withdrawing Medication From Vial

Changing needle after withdrawing from vial

Intramuscular (IM) injection is one of the few ways of administering medications to humans. There is one practice that is so common among pharmacists and medical doctors. When they use a needle to withdraw a medication from a vial, they change the needle before administration. The size of both needles may be the same. This is not so when the medication is withdrawn from an ampoule. A lot of people keep asking why the change. They want to know if there is any reason.

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Change Injection Needle

The choice of the size of needle and syringe is determined by many factors. The common practice is to use a big needle to withdraw. This helps to ease the withdrawal of the medication from the vial. The size for the body is determined by the age, site, weight and other factors.

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After withdrawal, it is believed that the needle becomes blunt after penetrating the rubber vial top. That can also be said about the side of the needle as it glides in and out of the rubber vial. This situation can make the injection painful. This can cause friction between the body and the needle. This theory has not been accepted by some scientists.

Another theory that is commonly accepted is that removing residue (medication on the tip of the needle) has been shown to reduce pain and discomfort. It is not possible to remove this residue after withdrawing medication from the vial. The only solution is to change the needle after preparation before administration.

Then lastly is the issue of abscesses. Infection of the site of injection by the needle can cause abscesses. But a medical practitioner that follow the process of giving injection will not have problem with this.

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