Im Injections

milky · May 4, 2006

Quick dart NOT slow push..

Pedi-ER-RN, RN · May 4, 2006

Some meds actually work better/last longer given IM. I don't like to inflict pain, but I learned early on in my career that sometimes to make a pt better, you have to do something that hurts them (ie: IV, IM shot, NG tube, etc...)

RunnerRN, BSN, RN · May 4, 2006

I'm with you.....EW! The worst is giving an IM to a baby, you feel like you're going to kill them! What has worked for me is reviewing my sites and landmarks, and being a stickler for making sure I'm injecting in the right area each time. Delt is my favorite, just because it is easy and not a lot to hurt there :)

Confession: sometimes there is something so nice about giving a drug seeker IM morphine. LOL They don't get the "rush" but they can't complain because it lasts so much longer than IV.

clee1 · May 6, 2006

Quick dart NOT slow push..

Bingo!

mshultz · May 8, 2006

Personally, I prefer an IM in the butt to an IM in the deltoid, or an IV. I was a skinny child with thin arms. When I received my first IM cortisone injection after 7th grade (I think) for seasonal allergies, I was greatly relieved at how tolerable the IM butt injection was. Aside from the embarrassment (I could make a pun with selective capitalization, butt I won't;) ), these injections never caused much discomfort.

As an allergy sufferer, my immune system is overactive, so I can not comment about penicillin injections. I do not remember ever getting one of those.

ckh23, BSN, RN · May 8, 2006

Always use the smallest needle possible, length and size. I have actually had patients ask for shots in other places then the delt because they said it hurts later on after the shot.

HM2VikingRN, RN · May 8, 2006

I'm with you.....EW! The worst is giving an IM to a baby, you feel like you're going to kill them! What has worked for me is reviewing my sites and landmarks, and being a stickler for making sure I'm injecting in the right area each time. Delt is my favorite, just because it is easy and not a lot to hurt there :)
Confession: sometimes there is something so nice about giving a drug seeker IM morphine. LOL They don't get the "rush" but they can't complain because it lasts so much longer than IV.

small gauge needles always seem to work

RNERHOUSESUPOR · May 8, 2006

Remember to stimulate the nerve endings in the area with a massage or moderate pinch just before piercing the skin, this decreases the nerves ability to respond to the injection. Follow with a slow steady injection of the medication and a smooth and quick withdraw of the needle. I give the best shots in any hospital that I work.

all4schwa · May 8, 2006

Remember to stimulate the nerve endings in the area with a massage or moderate pinch just before piercing the skin, this decreases the nerves ability to respond to the injection.
oooh, good tip, i like that one! what about a little smacksmack like finding a vein?
IM depo provera hurts for days, i (used to) ask for mine not in the deltoid, or i couldn't lift at work...

TazziRN, RN · May 9, 2006

With really scared kids I've put a cold pack against their butt, held in place by their pants, and they don't feel the needle. I too use the smallest gauge I can get away with, even using 27's sometimes. Something else: meds that come preloaded in a carpuject or similar seem to have dull needles on them. I've transferred those into a syringe and put on a new needle and have had fewer problems with them.

Things like bicillin: warm it before you inject it.

nursey_chick · May 13, 2006

I did see an RN (While i was a student on prac), choose the area, swab and at the exact same time the needle pierced the skin, the RN slapped the skin adjacent to the injection site. A bit barbaric, i thought, especially on little old ladies. But the patient did say it was their best neddle ever... Somehow I don't think this will work too well on kiddies.