How to give yourself a subcutaneous injection

The steps

1. Your kit and supplies

   Your box contains the medication in a labelled vial, syringes, alcohol swabs and your prescription. Keep the medication refrigerated. Set out what you need on a clean, dry surface: the vial, one syringe, two alcohol swabs and a puncture-proof container for the used syringe.

2. Hand hygiene

   Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and dry them with a clean towel. Do not touch the needle, the vial’s rubber top after cleaning it, or the injection site once cleaned.

3. Preparing the syringe

   Take the vial out of the refrigerator and let it sit for a few minutes. Wipe the rubber top with an alcohol swab and let it dry. Draw air into the syringe equal to your dose, push it into the vial, turn the vial upside down and draw your dose slowly. Tap out any air bubbles and push them back into the vial until the plunger sits exactly on your dose.

   Your prescription sets the dose. Draw exactly what it says, in the units it says.

4. The subcutaneous injection

   Clean the site with a fresh swab and let it dry. Pinch a fold of skin, insert the needle at about a 45 to 90 degree angle with one quick motion, release the pinch, and press the plunger slowly until the syringe is empty. Withdraw the needle at the same angle. Press lightly with a swab if there is a drop of blood; do not rub.

5. Site selection and rotation

   Use the lower abdomen, at least two inches from the navel, or the front or outer thigh. Rotate: each injection goes at least an inch from the last one, and alternate sides. Avoid skin that is bruised, scarred, tender or red.

6. Sharps disposal

   Put the used syringe, needle and all, straight into a puncture-proof, lidded container. A commercial sharps disposal container is best; a heavy plastic laundry-detergent bottle with the lid taped shut is an accepted household alternative in most places. Never put a syringe in household trash or recycling. Your local pharmacy or waste authority will tell you how to dispose of a full container.

7. Storage

   Keep the vial in the refrigerator, in its box, away from the freezer compartment. Do not freeze it, and do not leave it in a hot car or in sunlight. Follow the beyond-use date on the pharmacy label. If the medication arrives warm, looks cloudy, changes colour or has particles in it, do not use it.

8. Your dose is on your prescription

   Your prescription carries the physician’s dose and titration instructions. You follow them at home. This page describes technique only. If your prescription and this page ever seem to disagree, your prescription wins, and you can ask through the patient portal.

   Your prescription sets the dose. Draw exactly what it says, in the units it says.

9. When to contact Kesbury

   Contact the physician through the patient portal, or email [email protected], if you have persistent redness or swelling at a site, a rash, nausea that does not settle, lightheadedness that lasts, or any effect that worries you. Kesbury Health is not an emergency service. If you think you are having an emergency, call 911.