In case you are worried about getting a shot in the proper location

[uppityperson]

As a nurse, I've given thousands of shots. The deltoid is often chosen for intramuscular injections because it is a large enough muscle that is easily accessed. Dropping your pants and bending over gives access to the dorsogluteal muscle (buttocks) may not work well in some situations. Same as dropping your pants to access the vastus lateralus muscle in your thigh. Some medicines need a larger muscle, but the small amount of liquid in vaccines allows the use of the deltoid in most adults.

Lifting the sleeve of your shirt is fast and easy, exposes only your arm and shoulder and it is a safe place to give an IM injection in most people. If you have a very small deltoid, or are small or quite thin, this locaton may not have adequate muscle mass.

BUT you NEED to be able to see the area. Simply lifting your shirt to part way up your upper arm is NOT adequate to fully visualize the site for safe administration.

Not exposing the entire area, not being trained properly, not taking time to avoid the top of the triangle at the shoulder, these can lead to injection errors and injuries. These are rare happenings, but being aware of proper procedure is a good thing and can help counter fears from the recent publications about injection injuries.

If you are very concerned, or are one of those for whom deltoid injections are contraindicated (thin, small muscle), you can get vaccines in your dorsalgluteal or vastus lateralus muscles. You will probably need to get this done in a clinic situation but it is very possible to do this.



Here is info on how to give an IM injection.
https://www.drugs.com/cg/how-to-give-an-intramuscular-injection.html

Deltoid Muscle (Upper arm muscle): Completely expose the upper arm. You will give the injection in the center of an upside down triangle. Feel for the bone that goes across the top of the upper arm. This bone is called the acromion process. The bottom of it will form the base of the triangle. The point of the triangle is directly below the middle of the base at about the level of the armpit. The correct area to give an injection is in the center of the triangle, 1 to 2 inches below the acromion process. This site should not be used if the person is very thin or the muscle is very small.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. This is excellent information, my dear uppityperson!

Thank you for posting it.

I hope that it will diminish any concerns of DU's membership.

[uppityperson]

2. Thanks. We old nurses are just no fun as far as drama goes

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. You got that right! We experienced enough drama in the workplace!

[japple]

9. "Old" (and new) nurses are to be treasured. They have seen everything and they know

more than some doctors. My mother was a nurse, several relatives are nurses, and I have always gotten good advice from them. They are overworked, underpaid, and sometimes underappreciated. Thank you for your post--I am bookmarking it for future reference.

[etherealtruth]

4. The diagrams reminded me of nursing school

[irisblue]

5. as a retired Radiologic Technologist, Nurses flippin' rock.

And DU nurses best of all.

[progressoid]

6. Rec!

[SCantiGOP]

7. Ouch!!

That hurt to read.

Actually, whether it is my annual flu shot, or the needle used to draw a lab sample or to donate blood, I am always amazed that I can barely feel it. Some may be better training for the nurses, but I know the needles are now much smaller than they used to be.

[murielm99]

8. The really well trained people are

the phlebotomists. There are nurses who leave me with big bruises. Phlebotomists never do.

[alfredo]

11. When in an army hospital the nurse would smack butt cheek.

The sting of this slap covered the needle.

When she entered the ward she'd yell "sunny side up." My butt was swollen from all that penicillin, and on discharge I had a twelve hour bus ride to my next post. I stood or kneeled most of the way.

[TNNurse]

12. That was the penicillin and not the needle or the nurse

[alfredo]

16. Yeah, penicillin did hurt. I got at least four injections, two in each cheek.

The smack might have been to make us relax our muscles.

[pinboy3niner]

20. When my Army nurse came to give me my penicillin shot, she dropped the syringe

The cap was still on, so no problem...she thought.

But when she jabbed my butt, the needle wouldn't go in. Not the first time, or the second, or the third.

It turned out that the needle had corkscrewed from being dropped. It could open a bottle of wine, but couldn't penetrate my ass.

[SusanCalvin]

10. The person makes a difference.

I knock on wood when I say that I haven't been hurt in over a decade, even when they injected stuff in my nipple.

But hubby has been - SUPER incompetent person in hospital.

[TNNurse]

13. I gave every injection as if it were into myself or a loved one.

I often got compliments.

Drawing blood and starting IVs are very different procedures from an injection. Some of them hurt like hell.

[SusanCalvin]

14. Maybe hubby's procedure normally hurts somewhat, then.

It was something they were doing involving a vein in the back of the hand.

But it took her at least three tries. And she didn't listen when he said how bad it hurt.

(Well, neither did I at first, because I know he's a big baby. But I caught on before she did.)

[TNNurse]

15. well

Hand veins can be pretty painful and especially with multiple attempts. Sorry she was not receptive to his pain.she should have been and gotten someone else. Many nurses will only try twice before getting another person.

[alfredo]

18. They had trouble with my hand, but found a vein in my forearm. (Chemo)

[TNNurse]

21. I got a port for my chemo, they could only use one arm for IVs....

of course it got a blood clot and had to be removed but fortunately chemo was done. The original plan was to leave it for a year, I had it about 7 months. I used to never care about IVs and blood draws but now just using one arm makes me anxious the will have trouble in the future so I understand the worry.

[SusanCalvin]

19. I tried giving blood only once because of the experience.

They inserted the (large) needle twice. Second time, they didn't take it out, even though they were getting nothing. They wiggled it and tapped on it. I wanted to pull it out and flee.

They got a pint eventually, but due to that experience I have never tried again. I feel guilty, but I almost threw up and felt quite ill for quite a while.

[alfredo]

17. A couple weeks ago I got a shot in my ear canal. It hurt, but not as bad as the one on my nose.