Intramuscular Injections

What is a intramuscular injection? 

An intramuscular injection is given into the muscle.

Preparing for your Injection: 

• Wash your hands with soap and water. 

• Gather all the items you need and take them to a table. 

• Sit down in a chair next to the table. 

• Check the medication name and expiry date on the vial. 

• Check the amount of medication to be taken.

Filling the Syringe 

1. Mix the content of the vial if required. 

2. Clean the rubber stopper of vial with an alcohol swab.

3. Unwrap the needle and syringe and join them together tightly 

4. Put air into the syringe by pulling down on the plunger of the syringe to the amount of medication to be taken. 

5. With the vial upright, put the needle into the rubber stopper and inject air into the vial. 

6. Turn the vial upside down. 

7. Pull back the plunger to beyond the prescribed dose level. Make sure the end of the needle is in the liquid.

8. “Flick” syringe to remove air bubbles with your fingers or a pen. 

9. Move the plunger to the prescribed dose level on the syringe. 

10. Turn vial upright and remove needle

11. Rest syringe on needle cap or put the needle cover back on the needle.

Injection Sites: 

• An intramuscular (IM) injection deposits medication into the muscle under fat tissue below the skin. 

You can inject into the: 

• The mid-front and outer-side thigh muscles are the best sites. 
• The muscles of the buttocks can also be used. 

Change where you give the injection each time. The new site should be at least 1-2 inches away from the last injection site.

Cleaning the Injection Site: 

1. Wash the area with soap and water or alcohol swab. Allow the skin to dry. 

2. Place the swab on a clean surface to use again when withdrawing the needle.

Intramuscular (IM) Self-Injection: 

1. Remove needle cover. Hold syringe  with the needle up and push plunger  just slightly so that a drop of liquid  can be seen at the needle. 
2. Pinch leg tissue with  non-dominant hand. 
3. Hold syringe in dominant hand  as if holding a pencil 1 inch  above the injection site at a  90 degree angle to skin.  Dart the needle through  the skin into the muscle.
4. Use your non-dominant hand  to hold the syringe steady, using  other hand to pull back slightly  on the plunger. If you see blood  flow back into the syringe,  withdraw needle, discard and  start over.
5. If no blood appears, slowly  push down on the plunger  to inject medication.
6. Put alcohol swab on skin  near needle and quickly  pull needle out.  Slight bleeding from the  site is not uncommon and  usually means you have broken  a small blood vessel under the  skin. Apply gentle pressure  for 5 minutes.

Clean Up: 

• Place used drug containers, syringes and needles in a hard plastic resealable container (Sharp’s container). Check with your provider/pharmacy/DOH website for specific disposal instructions.