Injections - how do you contaminate a needle

[mamacitanursita]

Hi there,

So I need to develop a better understanding of this, when withdrawing meds, to insert into an IV for example, and you use a filter needle to draw up meds from an ampoule then switch right away to a blunt fill needle and discard the excess meds, is the needle shaft considered unsterile now!?

How do you make a needle shaft unsterile, why do we have to tip the syringe so the medication doesn't flow over the needle. Isn't the medication sterile too?

Is it only important to make sure medication doesnt overflow over the needle when youre gonna use that same needle to inject a patient, or is it true at all times when that needle is going to be used to be insterted into an IV bag!?

[Sour Lemon]

Hi there,

So I need to develop a better understanding of this, when withdrawing meds, to insert into an IV for example, and you use a filter needle to draw up meds from an ampoule then switch right away to a blunt fill needle and discard the excess meds, is the needle shaft considered unsterile now!?

How do you make a needle shaft unsterile, why do we have to tip the syringe so the medication doesn't flow over the needle. Isn't the medication sterile too?

Is it only important to make sure medication doesnt overflow over the needle when youre gonna use that same needle to inject a patient, or is it true at all times when that needle is going to be used to be insterted into an IV bag!?

I find this very confusing?? Maybe I'm just tired??

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I find this very confusing?? Maybe I'm just tired??

Nope, I have no clue

[thecrossfitrn, BSN, RN]

So, I read that at least five times. Am I right in saying you're trying to ask whether it is okay to allow medication to drip out of the needle? Common sense says that if you have a sterile medication and a sterile needle than any drip out/over would be a moot point. Is it a safety concern... no. Does it matter... no. Am I possibly doing your nursing homework... yes. Okay, that was possibly snarky, but we'll kind of need more information to give you a better answer.

[Libby1987]

Do you mean if you insert the needle into the vial farther than is needed, i.e. the needle is submerged in the solution?

[nutella, MSN, RN]

I learned that if you use one needle to draw up a medication you need to change the needle for a new sterile one before you inject the medication into a bag or such.

I am not sure where your confusion is to be honest.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I learned that if you use one needle to draw up a medication you need to change the needle for a new sterile one before you inject the medication into a bag or such.

I am not sure where your confusion is to be honest.

Why a new needle for a bag? I can see the need for injecting directly into a patient as the needle may be dull, but for a bag, I see no point. In fact, I've never changed a needle after drawing up a med to add to anything else.