Air bubbles in a subcutaneous injection: the honest risk assessment Writing it up because I had to work it out twice and would rather nobody else did.
An honest uncertainty about air bubbles rather than a disguised assertion.
I do not know the answer and I have not been able to find one. What I have is the shape of the question, which may be worth more than my guess at the answer.
Building on the opening post rather than restating it.
Bleeding at the injection site: normal and usually minimal. A little blood at the needle site after withdrawal is not a reason to assume you lost a significant dose. The needle passed through tissue and there is a small amount of bleeding in the tract.
The variance between people here is larger than the effect being discussed.
Pinch or no pinch: the decision depends on needle length and on your own anatomy. A longer needle (8 mm and up) reaches subcutaneous tissue easily without a pinch. A shorter needle (4-6 mm) is safer with a gentle pinch. The pinch size matters less than people think; the injection angle matters more.
Someone should write this up properly, and it should probably not be me.
Alcohol swabbing and letting the site dry is the whole of the preparation for a subcutaneous injection into intact skin. Injecting before it dries is what stings.
Post #4 is the version of this I will quote in future. One addition.
Air in the syringe is a much smaller problem subcutaneously than the anxiety about it suggests, and it is still worth expelling because the bubble occupies volume you meant to be liquid.
Take it as a starting point and not as a specification.
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About the Administration category
Technique, needle selection, site rotation, injection discomfort, and what to do about a missed or partial dose. This post is a community wiki: any member at trust level 3 or above can edit it, and every edit…
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