4 Potential Complications of Self-Administered Subcutaneous Injection

With the proliferation of How-To videos on the Internet on self-administered subcutaneous injections, people tend to forget the risks of this kind of treatment. There are so many things to consider like your weight, length of the needle, etc. should be taken into account when considering this treatment. This is why proper professional supervision (i.e. skilled nursing) is highly recommended. To give you more reasons why, below are four potential complications when self sub-q injections are mishandled:

1.)Pain

The thought of injection is already painful—from blood checkups to surgeries. Subcutaneous injections are no exceptions as they are in the middle of that pain scale. How come? From the word “subcutaneous” meaning “skin”, basic science would tell you it is where our sensory nerves lie. Now, the length of needle rests only within our skin which definitely defines pain. Plus, these are series of injections which makes it even terrible to think of.

Two problems arise: the injection dosage and the variation of injection technique we see online. Firstly, if you do not take the injection regularly, you may feel the exact pain you took it the first time. It is said that the more you have the injection, the more you may likely get used to it and actually feeling less pain than before. Secondly, too much information is dangerous because it causes confusion on the so-called “right” thing to do. On this point comes in the vitality of reaching out to home health care services in New York. People in this field are certainly fond of the do’s and don’ts of this treatment so for better care, talk to your home health care provider for a hassle-free injection.

2.)Bruising and Other Skin Irritations

Bruising is said to happen from time to time. It means that the needle has nicked a tiny blood vessel usually due to improper sterile technique and repetitive use of the same part of your body. Think of a banana poked several times, you can spot how it gets bruised. Same goes for your body, routine use may cause long-term bruise on that area. You may also get skin irritations and allergic reactions to the chemical solution or when the insulin is not highly purified. You may check with your physician on the recommended insulin meds you can have.

3.)Skin Infection

In line with the sanitary concerns above, diagnoses of skin infections like Abscess and related to skin soft tissue infection (SSTI) are complications of sub-q injection mishandling that can lead to sepsis, amputation, muscle fibrosis, nerve damage or even death.

4.)Tool Glitches

The most prominent tool glitch is needle breakage. What makes it fatal is that the broken needle is pulled by the pressure of the body. It would very dangerous if it gets to tissues, veins or even organs.

The best advice is to consult your doctor or contact a quality home health services provider near you to have subcutaneous injections worry-free