Struggling with air bubbles in syringe - self injecting

[liaratsoni]

Hi everyone

I am trying to self inject but I am really struggling with getting what I think are air bubbles out of the syringe. I have tried twice and both times I have a little bubble like break in the liquid at the bottom of plunger and at the top - in exactly the same place each time. I have tried to flick and tap and move them but they dont go and bringing air back in then expelling also does nothing. What am I doing wrong or are these not air bubbles? Thank you.

[pvanderaa]

When I inject, I hold the syringe with the needle point downwards and the plunger upwards (even when injecting horizontally into my buttocks) and small air bubbles next to the plunger are no issue as they stay in the syringe. In fact, I feel a small bubble next to the plunger helps get all the B12 out of the syringe.

That said, a small bubble injected IM or subc is harmless and will eventually be absorbed. You do not want a bubble in an IV injection getting directly into the blood stream.

[liaratsoni in reply to pvanderaa]

Thanks pvanderaa! I am really annoyed at myself for wasting an ampoule but I was so terrified of the bubbles! I am going to give it another go tomorrow!

[fbirder]

Don't worry about a little air. It's only dangerous if injected intravenously and there aren't any large blood vessels in the muscle (or fat) where you're injecting. With the exception of the buttocks. If you're injecting there then you should suck back on the syringe to check its not in a vein.

You may see blood appear at the site of an injection sometime. This is because you've gone through a small vein in one of the layers of the skin. There's no way a bubble could get into that vein.

[liaratsoni in reply to fbirder]

Thank you fbirder! This has really given me some more confidence for my next attempt

[Torresronnie in reply to fbirder]

I always get a bubble in mine when I do it. Always inject in the right side of my thigh. Leg Of shoulder

[Midnight_Voice]

We hold the syringe upside down, needle upwards, so any air bubble moves to the top of the syringe. Then we press the plunger gently until the air bubble is pushed out through the needle, holding a tissue over it (but not touching it) in case a little fluid squirts out if we overshoot.

Then we inject, without moving the plunger again until the needle is firmly home in the leg muscle.

[liaratsoni in reply to Midnight_Voice]

Thank you for the concise instructions!

[esteloca]

Hi, I too am obsessed with air bubbles and try to get out by thumping the syringe hard and repeatedly.

There have been a couple times when I couldn't so I just injected anyway because for one thing, the nurse said it was fine when she showed me how to si but also, sometimes when I get an iron infusion, there are large bubbles in the line!

I've been going through this for years and always sit there staring/anxiety through the roof /counting the "bubbles" which are big gaps of air in the line.

They always assure me "it's not like on tv", it would take alot more than that to hurt or kill me, even in a vein.

Lastly, I've even had a test on my heart called an "echocardiogram with bubble study" where they connect 2 syringes. 1 full of air & 1 full of saline and then mix them bk & forth for several minutes to create tons of tiny bubbles.

Then they injected it into my vein and watched them go through my heart to check for defects.

So if you're anything like me, even with reassurance you'll still be worried when you see those bubbles... but try not to be!

You can even google the test I had and see that it's real. And remember that after years of infusions where I worry myself sick counting gaps of air that add up to be several inches of air going directly into my vein, I'm still here!

Take care and worry less! Let's all try to follow that advice! 💖

[Whimzee26 in reply to esteloca]

I had that same “bubble study” done. In my case you could see the bubbles go straight though a wall in my heart, a dime sized birth defect was there! Open heart surgery at age 39 to fix. Whew!

[esteloca in reply to Whimzee26]

Oh wow! So glad they found it and were able to fix it! They found a septal aneurysm when they did mine and cardiologist says nothing needs to be done about it because "anyone could go at anytime and you could die on the table or live a very long time.. No one knows the rt decision. ". Currently waiting to see another cardiologist!

[liaratsoni in reply to esteloca]

Thank you so much this has been really helpful and reassuring! I feel much more confident now

[esteloca in reply to liaratsoni]

Awww 😁 I'm so glad I could help! I thought about you yesterday when I did mine and couldn't get a tiny bubble out! 😂 I still felt like I was going to have a panic attack! Hang in there! 💖

[1healthy1]

I don’t know if anyone else has suggested this. When I see air bubbles in the syringe I flick it with my index finger (the action of flicking said finger off the thumb) works every time. You may have to give the syringe more than one flick to completely remove the air bubble.