Needle Safety!

[Twizz]

Hopefully we can get this stickied. Also, if you have additional information that I didn't put here, feel free to PM me and I'll put it in, and give you credit for it.

I am going to go through a couple tips for anyone who is thinking of shooting their stuff.

Firstly, I am very against the needle, but I figure that there's going to be people who do it anyways even though there is so many risks involved. I'm just hoping that maybe someone will read this before fucking up their arms.

IN NO WAY AM I CONDONING THE USE OF NEEDLES OR DRUGS. I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO BE SAFE IF THEY ARE GOING TO BE STUPID.

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1. DONT USE THE NEEDLE
- it's not worth the potential for addiction and infection
- this is the most important point, hands-down

2. Clean the needle thoroughly before using it
- use 99% isopropyl alcohol to disinfect it, even if it's a new needle
- use distilled, pure water to rinse the alcohol out

3. Check to make sure you have a pill that is water soluble, and that has the least fillers and binders as you can get.
- the binders and fillers will clog up your needle, or even worse, your veins
- if the pill is not water soluble, don't bother shooting it. It won't work

4. Use a CLEAN spoon!
- make sure there is no food or anything on the spoon (obviously)
- once again, use iso alcohol to ensure that it is clean

5. Use a cotton swab to soak up the liquid after cooking it in the spoon
- the cotton will hold onto the fillers and crap when you suck the solution into the syringe
- put the syringe in the middle of the cotton and draw it in

6. Put a tourniquet on your arm! (a belt or surgical tubing, etc.)
- this will control the release into your body by keeping the blood in your arm while you inject it.

7. Make sure you're in the vein
- this is the most common mistake
- to make sure you're in the vein, slowly draw some blood into the syringe when it is in your arm (no shit)
- missing the vein can cause a lot of discomfort amd some nasty abcesses

8. Don't move the needle once you know it's in
- lots of people will unknowingly move the syringe a little bit and end up missing the vein

9. Once again, don't do it.
- the safest way to inject your drugs is to not do it at all
- There are numerous other methods of ingesting the drug. Be creative!

10a. Release the tourniquet (THANKS MAYBEJUSTHAPPY)
-if you don't release the tourniquet, veins could collapse and/or the drug could go into places it shouldn't and cause discomfort

10. Once you've found the vein, slowly inject! (THANKS POLECAT)
- lots of people push the plunger too quickly and pass out with the needle STILL in their arm
- passing out with needle in vein = lots of damage to yourself
- you could push through the vein and into the muscle tissue and this WILL cause pain

11. Pills are dirty for injecting.
- that's why they're pills. They're for SWALLOWING
- some of the stuff in the pill is MADE to break down in your stomach/intestines, and not in your veins

[maybejusthappy]

definitely sticky this.

[polecat]

10. Once you found the vein, SLOWLY inject.

The first time I shot up I was so nervous that once I found the vein, I just slammed down the plunger. It hurt like hell and made me miss the vein.

[Twizz]

My first sticky! :D

Keep coming with the suggestions, I'll keep updating the list!

[slangshot1]

cringing ass fuking thread ugg sweet twizz good first stiky sure ure proud i hate needles

[Twizz]

I hate 'em too, but people have to stay safe! Dead druggies aren't any good!

And hopefully I can save a hospital trip for someone, even if I prevent ONE person it's still worth it.

Needles suck.

[maybejusthappy]

Also, release the tourniquet BEFORE injecting, or the shot can get stuck and leak or collapse veins...

Soap and water is actually better than alcohol because it doesn't just kill germs, but removes matter...

[Twizz]

I find that alcohol works much better to remove "matter", it just softens it up more easily and you KNOW that you're going to be safe... Soap and water just doesn't do the trick.

Not many people who are waiting to inject H or oxy are going to be sitting there scrubbing their gear.

Thanks for the "releasing the tourniquet" tip, I'll add it now.

[maybejusthappy]

About the alcohol thing, this was my source- I trust your judgement in whether that is a reasonable addition or not.

Also, warmth makes veins easier to find and access, so if one were to wash their arm with warm water, there could be a double purpose. Although, it is also fine to wear a sweater, use a hair dryer, whatever, if that warmth is actually necessary (usually it just helps).

[maybejusthappy]

http://harmreduction.org/pubs/pamphlets/thinksink.pdf

oops...that was the link I meant to send...

[stareyes21]

I've never shot up anything and want to try it. I want to shoot dilaudid or oxy's. I have a tloerance so I'm not concerned about OD-ing, but I have no idea what kind of needle to use or even how to go about doing it. What needle gauge do I need and how many cc's? Can I get them at a CVS? Can anyone help?

[JahRed24]

i did two roxi30s (text imprint: A 215, color = blue) which is 30mgs Oxycodone Hydrochloride in an instant release formulation. Anyways i did both roxis "the right WAY"

[Shocbomb]

Twizz I just read this whole post for the first time.And I got to say man what a great post, it really tells people the right way to inject and how to use safely, It will help them so much. So many new users who start injecting that I have seen over the years have no dam idea what the hell they are doing and can really hurt themselfs with infections and other nasty shit a needle can do. If someone is going to move to injecting any drug they should really read this post.Injecting drugs is a whole new ball game and has to be taken very very seriously you have to know what the hell you are doing before you do it. Good over all post.

[polecat]

You can find this on Erowid but it takes some searching so I figured that I'd just leave a link. Possibly the most detailed guide to shooting ever created.

http://harm.live.radicaldesigns.org/downloads/idu_manual.pdf

[Twizz]

I'm really glad that this thread is starting to take off!

Keep coming with the info guys!

[Twizz]

Here's a question... How deep under the skin is the vein?

and... where on the arm do you inject? (crook of the arm, 3 inches down, etc.)

AND... is a tourniquet even necessary?

[GAHeroinHead]

hold the needle at an angle never jam it straight in lol...once your under the skin draw bag the plunger so a little bubble of air forms..so when you hit a vein the blood will rush into the hype...NEVER shoot in to anything that pulses..your arm will swell up and burn for a couple hours..trust me you'll have kwazie modo arms for a hot minute lol...i like to rock off a couple sets of pushups to get my veins jumpin...i dont use a tie...easier to miss for me anyways...be safe use alcohol on everything..oh yeah here's a good tip..use a fresh needle for every blast and your arms wont scar as bad...ive got tattoos from burnt tips on old needles..i've learned from my mistakes though...haha..be cool and safe yall.. -J

[sandbar*pain]

You can find this on Erowid but it takes some searching so I figured that I'd just leave a link. Possibly the most detailed guide to shooting ever created.

http://harm.live.radicaldesigns.org/downloads/idu_manual.pdfGreat info!

[jaged edge]

ahh, here i go again,

1. The most important issue with preparing pills for injection- DON'T FUCKIN COOK 'EM!!!, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO YOU NEED OR HAVE TO HEAT THE SOLUTION you don't need to cook the pill. if you has a crystla form of ha or any other quality crystal drug melting/cooking is necessary BUT NOT FOR PILLS!!!

2. hasn't anyone heard of alcohol swabs?? clean the injection site. i do both arms (as i usually do a few shots depending on my veins.)
3. Abceses lead to amputation of the limbs!
4. a tornequet is not really necessary if you can see the veins but it does help. if you begin to inject with the tonequet still tight you will find that a back pressure is created and the injection may run out. once you get the blood in your pick loosen the belt.

4 when preparing pills use a shot glass rather than a spoon as there is a greater volum content and less chance of knocking over you score and wasting the $$.

5. clean the pill with an alcohol swab (available at any pharmacy or need exchange program (if you have them in you state or country). you may also be able to ask for a pick pack (or syringe) pack at a pharmacy as they keep them behind the counter. however you generally want a larger size than what these packs provide when preparing for pills, the best size is a 10ml barrel. also get a 0.5 gauge tip.

6. use a proper needle filter that screws on to the barrel and a tip can be screwed on the other end, these filters look like spinning tops and are far safer than just cotten buds or cig filters when avoiding wax, chalk and other shit. Iuse both filter and cig buts.

finally, one way of cleaning picks is to rinse two times in hot water, then 2x in cold and again two times in hot water, this can be done also if you have to share (which you should not do at all where possible) but iso alcohol is good also. here is a process is have placed a few times already but here it is yet again. the above points are repeated below.

""
I posed this under another thread called "help oxy " or something like that but i will repeat it again here for you as its a safe and good method. I am not sure if you have needle exchange programs/facilities where you ae but if you do get all your tools from there. you will need, some 10ml barrels, 0.5gauge tips, water, and especially most importantly a filter (the green or brown ones as these are less stifling than the fine guage but stil very safe and they screw on to your barrel)

pre warning!
ATTENTION ALL WHO ARE NEW AT THIS PROCESS! -YOU DON'T NEED TO COOK YOUR PILLS AFTER CRUSHING THEM!! FORGET THE HOLLYWOOD BULLSHIT. lab prepared pills contain waxes that cause absises in your ateries and amputaion may most likly results over time and even death!! and for fucks sake don't cook'em, they are prepared in a lab and contain various chalks waxes and other shit specially designed for gentle ingestion in the gut they are not designed to be in injectied (even though its easy to do!) AND BY THE WAY DON'T SUCK ON EM TO CLEAN EM, USE A ALCOHOL SWAB FOR CHRISTS SAKE! SALIVA HAS ACIDS TO BREAK DOWN CHEMICALS AND TURNS EM TO MUCH IN PREPARATION FOR INGESTION, SUCKING ON THEM FUCK THEIR COMPISITION AND MAKES THEM MUCK.


ok here we go:
1. USE AN ALCOHOL SWAB TO CLEAN THE PILL AND GENTLY DRY WITH THIN COTTEN TOWEL (like a pillow slip)
2. place the dry pill in some folded paper and gently crush with the back of a tablespoon until the pill is well broken down
3. carefully pour the powder into a shot glass and add 8ml of clean water.
4. stir the mix with the plastic tip of the needle cover or the top of the plunger (the flat part) don't over stir put gently make sure the powder is broken up and fine.
5. LET THE MIXTURE (SOLUTION) SIT FOR ABOUT 5-10 MIN this allowes the chalky shit to sink to the bottom, the morphine is soluble and dissolves.

6. attach the filter to the barrel (plunger) it screws on, and add the pick (needle tip) to the other side of the filter

7. place a bit of a cig filter or cotton wool in the solution and gently draw the solution up through the filter, you should get a nice clean product looking like clear water without any shit apart from a few bubbles and make sure you get rid of these air bubbles (as you should already know). also be sure not to let the tip get to close to the chalk as its a pain in the arse to have to clean the tip half way throu the draw back.

8. take the filter off, you can re-use it once more, (but make sure its used the same direction as before otherwise oall the shit will go into your syring and solution) put your tip back on and away you go.

Ps you can keep the chalk and reuse for a later hit. it won't be as strong but it stil has morph in it. there you have it, the whole process takes about 15min if that!, not heating, its clean and very safe.
hope it helps"".
JE

[gimme_danger]

you can get them at any pharmacy right...behind the counter that is? you dont have to explain how you intend to use them? and what size/gauge do you recommend?

[Shocbomb]

Like GA says above always inject on a angle and never straight down.Always inject towards your body also make sure the point of the needle is facing you when you try to hit your vein. You do this because the blood in your veins travels back to your heart and its easier to hit your vein and draw back and stream of blood. If you try shooting with the spike pointiing away from you it is almost impossible to get a stream of blood. As for how far the veins are down under the skin well I guess it all depens on the person and where they bang there shit on there body ? But My veins tend to be about 1/4 of a inch under my skin. And I am also like GA I hardly ever use a tie up when I shoot up eather.At first its going to be hard for most to get the hang of shooting up. Its fucked up to say but its like anything else its takes practice and time to get good. When I first went from sniffing to shooting up my dope I was horrible at it and usally had people who were good at shooting up do it for me until I learned.At first I would fuck up my arms and look like a dart board -LOL- Finally after practice and a growing dope habbit I learned how to do it myself . Now I probably could shoot up with my eyes closed and hit my vein !!!! The bottom line is be safe when injecting.Well as safe as one can be when doing Hard IV drugs ?????

[RainbowChick66]

needles...ughhhh*shudders* too many risks involved, go the natural way people !!!! :)

[Tainted]

should change the sterilization of needles from rubbing alcohol to bleach. rubbing alcohol does NOT kill bacteria like bleach does.

i think I may be going off the same pamphlet (along with other sources, but mainly that pamphlet) posted on page 1, but it says to leave the bleach in for 2 minutes, should kill almost all bacteria, AIDS, and POSSIBLY hep c (dont share needles to begin with, but figured id throw that out there) cleaning it with bleach wears the rubber stopper/plunger down real quick and it will only last for a few shots, but you shouldnt really be using a needle more then once ideally anyways.

when you clean your rig with rubbing alcohol, let it soak for a while, spray it out, make sure theres still rubbing alcohol on the metal tip (AND ONLY the metal tip) and light it on fire then blow it out. do this with your spoon as well (Assuming its metal) its called 'flashing' the fire doesnt actually burn the metal really, but it kills alot of bacteria.

NEVER SHARE SPOONS, COTTONS, OR CUPS OF WATER (for loading), they can transmit diease just as easily as sharing a spike.

[gimme_danger]

i took a hit about an hour and half ago. maybe i was a bit sloppy but im fairly new to the point. with the other times ive done there were small bumps at the injection site but this last time its quite a bit bigger. it doest really hurt but i wonder if i should be concerned...? its not huge about the size of a quarter probably a little smaller. theres no discoloring reallly just a bump. can someone p lease let me know if this is normal or not???

[Shocbomb]

G Danger-First what are you shooting pills,coke,dope etc if it is dope powder or black Tar ? Second are you skin popping or mainlining your shot. If it was powder Herion and you missed the shot you will be fine those bumps always come and sometimes its nerve you hit also that is alright to eather or it will go down in a little bit. now if it was coke,meth,Black Tar or pills there is a chance the area can become infected and you will get a abscess.

[whatsupchuck]

sorry to be a total noob

>.> but whats an abcess ? i know what it is for teeth, is it the same in your arm ?

im against needles too, but if i were to do heroin (which i plan to do once in my life)
i would definitely shoot it, only because it would give it to me more intensely

and i think it was an amazing idea to put this up, and to have it stickied

[RecoveringJunkie]

2. Clean the needle thoroughly before using it
- use 99% isopropyl alcohol to disinfect it, even if it's a new needle
- use distilled, pure water to rinse the alcohol out



Very good advice, I was shooting Heroin/Speedballs for nearly 8 years, I thought new needles/syringes would be sterile, so they were the only thing I didn't clean, I mean Doctors use them all the time, right?
Wrong, if you're going to be stupid and inject, you should always assume something isn't clean until you've cleaned it yourself. I ended up with cellulitis and nearly lost my leg. I've been opiate free for 2yrs now, but once you've had your first shot, you never lose that itch for another. Like the OP said the best thing to do is not inject in the first place.
Another piece of advice,
If you're injecting regularly, use a different site each time you inject, it cuts down the risk of infection, and stops your veins from becoming damaged and blocked by scar tissue build up. Scar tissue in your veins increases your chances of getting DVT.

[RecoveringJunkie]

sorry to be a total noob

>.> but whats an abcess ? i know what it is for teeth, is it the same in your arm ?

im against needles too, but if i were to do heroin (which i plan to do once in my life)
i would definitely shoot it, only because it would give it to me more intensely

and i think it was an amazing idea to put this up, and to have it stickied

Yes, it's a large area of infected tissue, but 'cause it's at an injection site it's a lot worse, you can end up with Septicaemia or Cellulitis very easily.

Please don't inject the first time you take Heroin, I've lost count of the number of 'One hit wonder' funerals I've been to. Injecting at all is a really bad idea, it's so addictive. It took me 6 months to get a habit and 10 years to lose it. I've also lost count of the people who say they'll "Never get hooked", or "It's just a one off" but it's so good, that once you cross that line and shoot up, you'll end up doing it again. Next minute, it's your entire life, nothing else matters and you usually end up one of three ways;
1) You die from OD/Medical problems caused by injecting.
2) You do what Kurt Cobain did and kill yourself (I personally know two people who intentionally OD'd 'cause they couldn't stop taking smack, and could see no other way out)
3) You get clean, but even if you do, you're still fucked, because you still can't stop thinking about it, and almost everyone you'll know will be junkies. Any of your friends who didn't use will most likely not have anything to do with you by now.
Heroin may be the best high in the world, but it's just not worth it, there are loads of other drugs out there, take some of those instead.
I was taking Weed/Acid/Speed/Ecstacy for ages and everything was fine until I had smack, then it was all downhill from there.

[junglejack]

If you have to NJ & NY both have & encourage their needle exchange programs

[Eagles06]

Philadelphia also has a great needle exchange program. They are at a differnt corner, every day but Sunday. They also have a medical trailer that follows the otehr trailer 3 days a week, with a doctor in it and all, so if you get an absess or anything related to your drug use, you can go to them and they will help. And they will also test you for virues, Hep and HIV, for ex.
You will receive:
Clean Syringes(needles)
Cookers(Just a cap to mix in)
Cotton Balls
Alcohol Pads
Water
Bleach
Other Pads and some gel stuff for differnt things(Alcohol for before you shoot up, other stuff for after, a gel for track marks, etc.)
Condoms
Everything you need.

I may be forgeting some things, but if your in the Philly area and want more info, contact me.

[RoxStar]

(see below)

[RoxStar]

Hey- My other post was deleted...I think.

**An FYI, this is a random insert and I apologize for any inconvenience.**

Hey Eagles06, I wanted to give you a shout because I'm also from Philly and am familiar with a lot of the locations/clinics you listed in your posts. Is there a way to PM on this board? I'm still relatively new and trying to learn the ropes. I'd like to get more info (from the post above), but how do I get at ya? Regardless I wanted to share some philly love ha. Be easy

-rox

[Eagles06]

Yes, you can PM on this site. I sent you a Private message, read it and get back to me, I put some more of my info in there for ya.