Why are ampules stil used?

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Specializes in progressive care telemetry.

Does anyone know? We are working on med administration in nursing school right now, they sure don't seem safe. No one has hurt themselves on one yet but I've rad the stories here and wonder why they are still around.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

ahhh... is there anything more satisfying than to crack the top off on an ampule?

ok... maybe cracking the top off of a nice cold lager on a hot summer day...

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Specializes in progressive care telemetry.

ok... maybe cracking the top off of a nice cold lager on a hot summer day...

Or a cold, crisp, nearly winter day... :beer:

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Specializes in ICU, Psych.

There are very few meds that do not tolerate the rubber like plugs that are used in common single dose units. I think Thorazine is one of them, it may also, if used IV, and yes it can be given IV, may not remain in the bag over 30min or so, at least so a pharmacist tells me.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

A coworker of mine, in order to get all the liquid in the bottom of the ampule, does this funky thing that reminds me of fast-pitch softball. I wish there were a smilie for it. It cracks me up every time she does it, & I keep thinking I need to to borrow it for my own use. :)

(I hate ampules, btw. I keep waiting for a piece of it to fly off & hit somebody in the eye. So far hasn't happened yet but.....)

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Specializes in School Nursing.

they are pretty antiquated. i never liked popping the tops off. always afraid i would cut myself. seems like in these modern time, they could invent something less dangerous !

praiser :heartbeat

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Specializes in ICU/ER.

I sliced my finger something fierce on an ampule once-- I was a new nurse with all of maybe 2 weeks of exp and the patient was going bad quickly my mentor nurse gave me the ampules to draw up and SLICE--blood everywhere!! Now I tear a alchohol swab open and place the top in the pouch. And break it away from me, not towards me, but still every time I need to crack one open it totally freaks me out!

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...this funky thing that reminds me of fast-pitch softball...

I learned the same method, which has worked well in my experience.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

It's only happened once, but I've sliced the heck out of my thumb on an ampule. I was trying to hide it from the patient, but our wound care nurse happened to walk by and saw me bleeding all over the place, and she made me get it checked downstairs in the ER. That, of course, meant I had to write an incident report, which resulted in 'employee counseling' (read: the NM told me to be more careful next time). It was all really stupid and juvenile, and it wasn't necessary---I could've just slapped a couple of steri-strips on the cut and been fine. Danged bureaucracy!!

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Specializes in School Nursing.
i learned the same method, which has worked well in my experience.

how do you do the softball thing ? describe it to us, because now i am curious how it is done !

praiser :heartbeat

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

That's what I was taught, too. You hold it by the tip, and swing your arm around in a circle from the shoulder. It's supposed to make sure there's no med in the tip when you snap it off....

And I split my thumb open in lab during LPN school on an ampule filled with saline. Had to go out to my car to get a bandaid out of the kit in my trunk, nursing school, nurses everywhere, nobody had a first aid kit or a bandaid.....:smackingf

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Specializes in Emergency.
how do you do the softball thing ? describe it to us, because now i am curious how it is done !

praiser :heartbeat

kinda wondering myself. i just flick the upper part of the ampule a couple of times and that always get all the liquid to the bottom.

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