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Hello everybody,
I'm a new nurse and I know I'm supposed to know how to do it already, but... I think I aspirate a bit too violently when checking for blood return (intramuscular injection). My preceptor says aspiration is a must for IM injections, and I'm quite scared at the thought of accidentally injecting medication into a blood vessel, so I always aspirate, even in delts.
Whenever I give IM injections, I aspirate 2-3 times, just to make sure. We were taught to aspirate for about 5-10 seconds. Curiously, blood enters the syringe only the second or third time I draw up the plunger... If I was to hit a vein, I'd be in the danger of giving the injection on the wrong route if I aspirated only once. Is this normal? Isn't blood supposed to enter the syringe from the first aspiration? I aspirate quite violently, so can this be the issue? I mean, perhaps my violent aspiration is causing damage to the muscle tissue.
Also, sometimes I've noticed some kind of "particles" entering the syringe. My preceptor says it's coagulated blood. Does it mean I've hit a blood vessel as well? Can I inject the medication anyway as long as it's not "regular" blood (bright red and liquid, so to speak)?
Sorry for the many questions, but I'd like to hear multiple opinions.