Using the same needle to draw medication from a vial and then inject it into a person is not a safe practice. This approach compromises both patient safety and the effectiveness of the medication being administered. Needles are engineered for single use to maintain their sharpness and sterility, preventing potential harm and contamination.
Reasons Against Reusing Needles
A needle’s tip experiences microscopic changes after piercing a rubber stopper. The fine point, designed for smooth skin penetration, can become blunted or develop a “barb.” This alteration makes the needle less sharp and more likely to cause discomfort and tissue damage upon subsequent injection.
Piercing a vial stopper can also introduce microscopic particles of rubber into the needle. These tiny fragments can be drawn into the syringe along with the medication. Injecting these foreign particles into the body poses a risk of adverse reactions or complications for the patient.
Once a needle has pierced anything, even a sterile vial, its sterility for direct patient injection is compromised. The needle surface may collect environmental contaminants or microorganisms from the vial stopper. This loss of sterility makes it unsuitable for patient use.
Potential Health Risks of Reuse
A dull or microscopically barbed needle causes increased pain and trauma during injection. The compromised tip can tear rather than cleanly pierce tissue. This can result in localized tissue damage, potentially causing bruising, swelling, or even scarring at the injection site.
The compromised sterility of a reused needle raises the risk of infection. Any bacteria or other microorganisms picked up from the vial stopper or the environment can be directly injected into the patient. This may lead to localized infections like abscesses or systemic infections that spread throughout the body.
Tissue damage caused by a blunted needle can also hinder the proper absorption of the medication. When tissue is traumatized, the medication might not disperse as intended. This could lead to the medication being less effective, impacting the patient’s treatment outcome.
Proper Needle Use
Healthcare professionals follow a “two-needle” technique to ensure patient safety and medication efficacy. One sterile needle is used solely to draw the medication from its vial. This needle is then immediately discarded after the medication is drawn into the syringe.
A fresh, sterile needle is attached to the syringe for administration. This ensures the needle entering the patient’s body is at its sharpest and completely sterile. The new needle is optimally designed for minimal pain and tissue disruption.
Beyond needle selection, strict sterile practices are maintained, including thorough hand hygiene before preparing injections and careful antiseptic skin preparation at the injection site. This comprehensive approach minimizes the introduction of contaminants. Needles are manufactured for single use and should always be disposed of properly after one use, regardless of whether they pierced a vial or a patient.