Intramuscular injections are a fairly commonly prescribed method of administering medications. After the injection, a depot of the injected solution is created in the muscles, which helps maintain the same concentration of the active substance for the required time, and a well-developed circulatory system in the muscle fibers allows the medicine to be quickly and completely absorbed.

The gluteal muscles are thick enough to allow an injection without fear of damaging the periosteum. In addition, the main large neurovascular bundles in the buttocks area run deep, and the chances of damaging them are much less than when injecting the medicine into other muscles.

What syringe and needle should I use for the injection?

To inject the medicine into the gluteal muscle, use a syringe equal in volume to the injected solution. Children are usually administered medications in a volume of 1 or 2 ml, for adults it is most often 5 ml, less often 10 ml. It is not recommended to inject more than 10 ml into the muscle, as this will complicate the absorption of the medicine and can lead to suppuration of the injection site. It is preferable to choose a needle for intramuscular injections with a length of 4-6 cm to prevent too deep administration of the drug and not to injure deep-lying large vessels and nerves.

Which part of the buttock should I inject?

For the injection, select the outer part of the buttock in its upper part. In order not to make a mistake, you need to mentally divide the buttock into 4 identical quadrants (as doctors call square areas). The middle of the upper outer quadrant is suitable for injection.

The injection area can also be determined in this way: if you step back 5-8 cm from the most protruding level of the pelvic bones (iliac crest), this will be a safe area for the injection.

What medications can be injected into the buttock?

You can give an injection in the buttock with both aqueous and oil solutions intended for intramuscular injection(this must be indicated in the annotation for the drug).

Before drawing the medicine into the syringe, it is recommended to hold the ampoule in your hand for a while to warm it up to body temperature, since a warm solution is easier to administer and dissolves faster.

When administering an oil-based medication, it is important to ensure that the needle does not enter the vessel. To do this, you need to pull the plunger towards you and see if blood flows into the syringe. If there is no blood, you can safely introduce the solution gradually. However, if blood appears in the syringe, you need to choose another injection site (you can do it in the same buttock, 1-2 cm away from the first puncture).

How to give an injection correctly?

Lay the patient down on his stomach, free his buttocks from clothing. If a person gives an injection to himself, then it is allowed to do this while standing, taking into account the fact that the leg on the side of the injection must be relaxed. To do this, you need to bend it at the knee and transfer your body weight to the other leg.
Wash your hands with antibacterial soap or disinfect your skin with an antiseptic to prevent infection at the injection site.
The person who will give the injection must wear disposable medical gloves to protect themselves from possible blood from the wound getting onto the skin.
Wipe the intended injection site (several centimeters in diameter) with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.
The syringe is held with one hand (for right-handed people this is the right hand) so that the thumb and forefinger hold the piston, and the remaining fingers hold the syringe barrel.
With the other hand, stretch the skin near the puncture site. If the injection is being given to a child or thin adult with poorly developed gluteal muscles, use your fingers to gather the skin and muscle into a large fold.
The syringe needle is inserted with a quick movement into the desired area to a depth of up to ¾ of its length, strictly perpendicular to the skin.
Gradually pressing the plunger of the syringe releases the medicine. At the same time, the slower you inject the solution, the more painless the injection will feel.
With a sharp movement (in the direction opposite to the insertion of the syringe), the needle is removed from the muscle, and cotton wool with alcohol is applied to the injection site.

What complications can there be?

After an injection (especially after the administration of antibiotics and some vitamins), a difficult-to-absorbable infiltrate may form (popularly called a “bump”). To avoid this, it is necessary to inject the medicine into the muscle as slowly as possible, and also avoid constant injections into only one buttock.

To improve the absorption of the medicine, it is recommended to draw an iodine grid on the resulting “bumps” or apply a fresh cabbage leaf. If the injection site becomes very red and painful, and your body temperature rises, you should see a surgeon to rule out a post-injection abscess.

The most serious complication from improper injection of medication into the buttock is sciatic nerve palsy. If a sharp pain appears along the back of the thigh in the first seconds of the injection, you must immediately stop administering the medicine and pull out the needle.

If you follow all the listed rules of asepsis and intramuscular injection techniques, then giving an injection in the buttock will be a fairly simple and easily accomplished task, even at home.

Learning to do it yourself

Intramuscular injection is the most common and simplest method of administration into the body. medicines. It is recommended that such injections be given to the largest muscles in places distant from the main blood vessels and nerves.

It is in the gluteal muscles that a person has the most powerful layer of muscle tissue, which has few nerve endings.

As a rule, 3 or 5 cc syringes are used for injection into the buttock. After the injection, a depot is formed inside the muscle tissue, from which the drug, thanks to a branched system of blood vessels, enters the blood and spreads throughout the body.

Preparing for the injection

A prerequisite for administering drugs into a muscle is maintaining basic hygiene. Before the injection you should wash your hands thoroughly. It is necessary to prepare a preparation, a sterile syringe, a blade used to open ampoules, cotton wool, alcohol wipes or vodka. To make the injection less painful, it is recommended to use a long, thin needle.

Carrying out an injection

If you are giving the injection to another person, it is best for them to lie down. In this position it is easier to achieve complete muscle relaxation. When injecting yourself, it is also advisable to take a horizontal position, although, with sufficient skill, you can inject yourself while standing.

The needle is inserted strictly to the extreme upper quarter of the gluteal muscle. In this case, you will be completely protected from getting into a nerve or blood vessel.

Follow these simple steps

Remove the syringe from the package and attach the needle to it;
Inspect the ampoules: check the name and concentration of the drug;
Wipe the ampoule with the drug with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol;
Open the ampoule with a special blade;
Draw the required amount of the drug into the syringe without touching the walls of the ampoule with the needle;
Wipe the area of the buttock intended for injection with an alcohol wipe;
Lift the syringe with the needle up and release a small stream so that there is no air left in the syringe;
Using a gentle, strong movement, insert the needle into the muscle at a right angle;
Slowly press down on the syringe and inject the drug;
Take out the syringe and wipe the injection site with a cotton swab, lightly massaging it.

Injections, as a rule, are not administered once, but are designed for a specific course. Some of the drugs, such as B vitamins, are quite painful.

For a long course you should alternate buttocks and give injections at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other. An iodine mesh can be placed in the injection area, which speeds up the process of resorption of the drug and reduces the feeling of pain and discomfort.

By watching the video below, you can consolidate your knowledge. Just be extremely careful and don’t miss a single detail.

The most in a simple way Subcutaneous administration of drugs is considered an intramuscular injection into the upper part of the buttock. Usually the injection is given by a nurse or doctor, but you can do it yourself. Let's figure out how to give an injection in the buttock of a child, an adult and yourself - all the features of introducing the procedure without harm to health.

You can give an injection in the buttock at home

How to choose a syringe and needle for an injection in the buttock

The main thing you need to know when choosing a syringe for injection is that the volume of the instrument should not exceed the amount of the drug administered:

for children – 2 ml;
for adults – 5 ml (very rarely 10 ml).

The volume of the syringe for injecting a child should be no more than 2 ml

Injections with a volume of more than 10 ml are not given into muscle tissue. A large number of medications are not able to quickly dissolve and spread throughout the body. This condition can lead to purulent abscesses.

To prevent the injection of the drug from being too deep, the most suitable needle length is considered to be 4–6 cm. This will also help not to touch the walls of capillaries and nerve endings,

Which part of the buttock should the injections be given?

The upper (outer) part of the buttock is considered a suitable area. To avoid mistakes, the muscle must be visually divided into 4 equal parts. The upper square, namely its middle, will be the area where you need to place the injection.

The most suitable place for injection is in the buttock

The photo clearly shows the area that is best suited for administering medications. The location is far from the sciatic nerve, iliac bone and spinal column, which allows for safe manipulation.

Preparing for intramuscular injection

The results of the procedure depend on a number of simple manipulations:

Inspect the ampoule with the medicine for its integrity, and also check the expiration date of the drug.
Collect all the medicine at the bottom of the ampoule. To do this, you will need to lightly shake the ampoule 1-2 times.
Use a special file (supplied with the preparation) to file the upper part of the glass flask. Usually the incision site is marked with a colored rim.
Break off the sawn tip of the ampoule. For safety, it is better to place the cone in a napkin so as not to get hurt when opening the glass vial.
Release the syringe needle from the protective cap and immerse it in the medicinal liquid. Pull the handle of the instrument towards you and draw out the medicine.

Break the tip of the ampoule and fill the syringe with medicine

When the syringe is filled with liquid, you need to tap it a little with your finger. This will help to collect all the air bubbles and, by gently pressing the piston, bring them out. After this, you can give the injection.

If the main medicinal substance is in powder form, it is diluted in a special solution (indicated in the instructions).

This is done as follows:

remove the protective metal cap from the bottle;
using a needle and syringe, inject the required amount of solution into the vial of powder;
shake thoroughly;
turn the bottle over, pierce the cap and collect the medicine in the syringe.

When the lid is pierced, the needle becomes dull. To make the injection less painful and to maintain sterility, it is better to replace the needle with a new one before injection.

Instructions for performing an injection in the buttock

It is not difficult to give an injection to an adult or children. The main thing is to follow the sequence of actions and know all the nuances of the procedure.

Technique for injections in adults

The following scheme will help you give the injection as painlessly as possible.

Place the patient on a flat surface face down and free the upper part of the buttock from clothing.
Wipe the injection site with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.
You need to hold the syringe with your right hand and stretch the skin in the area of the upcoming injection with your left.
The needle should be inserted three-quarters of the way into the muscle at an angle of 90 degrees. The hand movement should be confident and fast.
Inject the medicinal solution by slowly pressing on the syringe plunger and sharply remove the needle from the buttock, covering the injured area with alcohol-soaked cotton wool.

It is important to understand that rapid administration of the medication makes the procedure very painful and can cause the formation of lumps and lumps.

Before the injection, treat the skin with alcohol

How to properly give an injection to a child

Children are heavier than adults to tolerate injections that are given intramuscularly.

To make the unpleasant procedure as easy as possible for a small organism, several basic nuances should be taken into account:

When preparing the injection site, the skin should not be stretched (as in adults), but rather folded.
Massage the desired area of the muscle well.
Insert the needle at an angle of 45 degrees.

The rest of the manipulations are the same as for an adult.

Insert the needle at an angle

Intramuscular injections are not recommended to be injected into the same place more than 2 times a week. The buttocks must be alternated, and the distance between skin punctures should be 1-2 cm. This will avoid compaction in the muscle tissue and pain.

How to inject yourself

There are situations when there is no one to give an intramuscular injection and you have to carry out this manipulation yourself. Injecting yourself is not so convenient, but you can learn how to do a medical procedure if you know the basic nuances.

Choose the right pose. Usually they stand in front of a mirror, relaxing the side in which the injection will be given (bend the leg at the knees, resting on the other limb). You can give injections while lying down, but it is recommended to lie on your side.
Confidently insert the needle. To do this, you need to take the syringe with your right hand and with a sharp movement inject into a previously prepared place on the buttock. Slowly squeeze out the medicine.
Complete the procedure correctly. Remove the needle sharply and treat the puncture area with cotton wool and alcohol (vodka). Massage thoroughly.

It is important not to give injections if the skin on the upper part of the gluteal muscle is covered with acne or other damage. To avoid infection, it is recommended to inject the medicine into the muscle on the thigh.

If an injection in the buttock is given incorrectly - complications

Incorrectly given injections can provoke serious consequences:

vascular damage, which is accompanied by hematomas and abscesses;
development of compactions and bumps due to poor absorption of the drug;
inflammation in soft tissues as a result of infection;
fat or air embolism (air entering a capillary).

If the injection is given incorrectly, a hematoma may appear on the buttock

If after the injection your buttock hurts, your leg goes numb, or an allergic reaction occurs (redness, swelling), we are talking about improper administration of the medicine. To prevent complications, it is recommended to consult a doctor.

What happens if you give an injection with air?

A small amount of air entering the muscle or intercellular space during an injection is not dangerous. As a result, an air infiltrate (compaction, bumps) may occur, which hurts and becomes inflamed. To alleviate the condition, draw iodine nets, apply soda compresses, and cabbage leaves.

If air gets into the capillary, the small vessel dies. This is not harmful to health, but still refers to the undesirable consequences of an injection with air.

Injecting the buttock yourself is not difficult if you follow all the rules of the specific procedure. If the recommendations are not followed, lumps and lumps may form, which may be accompanied by infection and inflammation. It is important to pay attention to negative deviations in time to prevent the formation of abscesses.