Most nurses don't use recommended intramuscular injection site despite potential risks

Wiley-Blackwell ^ | May 9, 2011 | Unknown

[decimon]

Ping

[freedumb2003]

“And THIS is for those all night study sessions and THIS is for the required graveyard shifts during nursing residency and THIS and THIS and THIS is for how the doctors talk down to us...”

[Ditter]

This is strange, I don’t remember ever getting a shot in the butt, it is always the hip or upper arm.

[mad_as_he$$]

Ping.

[ComputerGuy]

There’s nothing like getting a big slug of gamma globulin right next to your sciatic nerve - makes walking an adventure.

[svcw]

I agree. Upper arm or hip.

[decimon]

There’s nothing like getting a big slug of gamma globulin right next to your sciatic nerve - makes walking an adventure.

It wasn't gamma globulin but a medic told me to knead my butt muscle for a while to avoid the usual problems. Seemed to work.

[brytlea]

No kidding....

[MichaelP]

As a kid in the late 50s and 60s, every time I went to the doctor I got one of those double penicillen shots with a chrome syringe and huge needle in the tuckus. I hated going, because I just knew I'd get it. It did hurt something awful....

Mike

[ComputerGuy]

Great pic of the First Couple :)

[ConorMacNessa]

In Hospital Corps School we were taught to inject in the upper outer quadrant of the upper outer quadrant well away from the sciatic nerve. Despite that, I once received an injection while in hospital that was dangerously close to the sciatic. Guess that corpsman didn't show up the day they were teaching about injections.

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[savedbygrace]

I give myself B-12 injections and I prefer to NOT do intramuscular. Two reasons:

1) Less painful (I can use shorter needles to reach tissue, rather than muscle)

2) Effects occur more slowly over a longer time period

If I ever need B-12 uptake quickly, I do have a box of syringes with longer needles to do an intramuscular injection.

[CH3CN]

Pernicious anemia?

[savedbygrace]

Probably. Haven’t had a CBC in a while to see if levels are getting worse, but I’m pretty sure PA resulted in nerve damage to one of my eye nerves, giving me double vision.

By the time my D. O. discovered the B-12 problem, it was too late to save the nerve, and I had to have eye muscle surgery to mitigate the double vision. (Long story.)

My mom has it, and at this point in time (94 YO) she has no feeling in her legs to above the knees.

[brytlea]

LOL took me a minute to *get it*!

[keats5]

This must be a Canadian problem. I’m a nurse. I’ve never given, or have seen one of my colleagues give, an injection near the sciatic nerve. It’s always the upper outer quadrant.

[CH3CN]

My FIL had it, and my hubby is probably developing it. Your description sure sounded familiar. It does seem to be hereditary in a lot of families, esp. northern European. Good luck. Take good control of the B-12 levels to minimize damage.

[TheOldLady]

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[pops88]

“This must be a Canadian problem. I’m a nurse. I’ve never given, or have seen one of my colleagues give, an injection near the sciatic nerve. It’s always the upper outer quadrant.”

Same here and I graduated from nursing school 28 years ago.