This is for people who are not in professions that use syringes on a regular basis. I did a quick forum search and I don't think I saw anything like this here on ECF.
I made this so that people who use syringes but are a little inexperienced can be safe and avoid injuries. The process may seem complicated, but trust me, with experience it becomes second nature and you can go through the entire process safely and efficiently in less than 5 seconds (minus the time actually used for filling, obviously).
Experienced professionals who have done this hundreds of times may have more refined or different methods, so what they do will differ from what I show here. devices are also available that allow you to cap and uncap a syringe using only one hand. Do what you think works for you, but please always keep your safety in mind.
BTW, yes, I am a licensed and registered nurse here in the Philippines.
Parts of a Syringe:
VERY STRONG RECOMMENDATION: Grind your needles to eliminate the point (bevel). This reduces the chances of the needle going deep(er) if you happen to poke yourself.
Even with flat needles, treat your syringe as if it had a sharp point, because it still does. I usually blunt my points on a sharpening stone, then load up a syringe with water and give it a slow and steady push through the needle to check the flow of liquid. It should come out in a smooth, steady stream with no spraying droplets to the side.
Hand Position:
Changing Needles:
Removing the Needle:
IMPORTANT - NEVER *EVER* ATTACH OR REMOVE AN UNCAPPED NEEDLE. NEVER!!!
A majority of syringes use a Luer-Lock system (see below) to secure the needle to the syringe. To remove a needle, first make sure the cap is secure by giving the cap a light tap point-on onto a hard surface. Grip the cap near the locking point where the needle joins the syringe. Twist the cap firmly clockwise (based on correct hand position) until the plastic part of the needle clears the locking threads. DO NOT PULL! If done correctly, the needle will separate from the syringe.
Attaching the Needle:
Make sure the cap is securely attached by gripping the open end of the needle, putting a finger on the open end, and tapping it onto a hard surface. Hold the cap (with the needle inside) firmly near the open end. Position the needle on the syringe and twist counterclockwise until the screw threads are engaged. Stop when the needle is locked in place.
(Note: You will be screwing the capped needle onto the barrel of the syringe, not the other way around. Screwing the barrel onto the needle will often torque the base of the needle into the barrel too tightly, requiring a disproportionate amount of force and personal frustration to remove it.)
Removing the Cap:
Making sure that the needle is securely locked, put a little pressure on the cap by twisting slightly counterclockwise. Using the hand holding the barrel of the syringe, PUSH with your thumb (#1 in the picture above) on the thumb holding the cap (#2 in the picture above). The cap will separate from the needle. DO NOT REMOVE THE CAP YET. Put the whole syringe assembly down on your desk/table and pull the syringe body away - the cap will slide off, leaving you with an exposed needle. You're going to put the cap down anyway, so you might as well do it this way.
Warning: If you tip the syringe whole assembly down and allow the cap to fall, Murphy's Law will demand that the cap bounce off the table, drop to the floor, and roll into the most inaccessible space available.
Replacing the Cap:
IMPORTANT - DO NOT RECAP SYRINGES BY HOLDING THE CAP IN YOUR HAND!
Put the cap down and insert the needle into the cap. Tip the needle up so that the cap falls down onto the plastic part of the needle. Pull down on the cap slightly (again, see correct hand position picture, above) to lock the cap onto the needle. Tap the cap point-on lightly onto a hard surface.
My filling procedure:
- Attach 18 gauge needle onto your syringe (a 3ml or 5ml syringe should be fine), and pull out the plunger about 1/3 of the way.
- Insert the needle into the dropper point of your juice bottle. Holding it with the bottle up above the syringe at an angle (most holes on the dropper are small enough that it will be tight and air-sealed), pull the plunger downward, making sure that the tip of the needle is in the liquid.
- Every once in a while, release the plunger. You will notice that air will bubble up into the bottle.
- When you have enough juice in your syringe, push the needle up into the air bubble in your bottle then pull the plunger down a little more. (So the juice clears the needle and doesn't drip out when you remove the syringe from the bottle.)
- Turn the bottle and syringe upside down so that the bottle is now below the syringe.
- Wait a few seconds to let pressures equalize.
- Withdraw the syringe.
- Cap the bottle. (This is important . . . I've knocked uncapped bottles off my desk lots of times. Murphy's Law at work, yet again.)
- Recap the syringe.
- If needed, you can now change the needle of the syringe.
For open bottles without a dropper tip, just dip the point into the liquid and pull on the plunger. It helps to have your lower hand or elbows in contact with the table for stability while holding onto both the bottle and syringe. If the opening on the bottle is large enough to accept the diameter of the syringe, you can leave the needle off the syringe so it fills quicker.
Syringe needle colors:
18 Gauge= Pink. Big-bore needle.
23 Gauge= Light blue, these come standard with most syringes that come with a needle. However, some syringes my come with a 25 gauge needle (also light blue, with a smaller bore than a 23 gauge; this works OK too). If unsure what gauge needle you have, you can always check the package. Other places may have different colors assigned to their needles. (Unlikely, but very possible.)
The LOWER the number, the LARGER the bore, or opening, of the needle.
Remember: Always use a slow and steady motion when pushing or pulling on the plunger. I usually stop filling/pushing liquid when I'm about 90-95% done for about 5 seconds, just to let internal pressures equalize. I add the last little bit of juice slowly from there.
To the other professionals out there . . . let me know if I missed anything so I can add it. I will try to keep modifying this post, adding pictures as necessary, etc.
Forum moderators, please feel free to duplicate, modify, sticky, lock, or delete (if appropriate . . . I don't think it is, is it?) this post as necessary.
Final reminders:
- Safety is always your first priority!
- Secure your needles! Do not allow anyone access to your needles who isn't you.
- Dispose of your needles and syringes responsibly. Use a sharps container to hold your needles before disposal. (A sharps container is a rigid plastic or metal container with a screw-on or otherwise sealed top.) Keep in mind that there may be laws and regulations in your area regarding the disposal of certain medical equipment, such as syringes and needles. Do your due diligence and find out what those might be in your area.
- Don't do things halfway. Gather all your materials before you start working. If you have to step away from your work area, please take the time to secure your supplies properly.
- Keep it slow and steady. If you have to rush, then don't bother.
- If you think reading this post was a waste of your time, throw away ALL your syringes NOW and rediscover the joys of dripping.
I made this so that people who use syringes but are a little inexperienced can be safe and avoid injuries. The process may seem complicated, but trust me, with experience it becomes second nature and you can go through the entire process safely and efficiently in less than 5 seconds (minus the time actually used for filling, obviously).
Experienced professionals who have done this hundreds of times may have more refined or different methods, so what they do will differ from what I show here. devices are also available that allow you to cap and uncap a syringe using only one hand. Do what you think works for you, but please always keep your safety in mind.
BTW, yes, I am a licensed and registered nurse here in the Philippines.
Parts of a Syringe:
VERY STRONG RECOMMENDATION: Grind your needles to eliminate the point (bevel). This reduces the chances of the needle going deep(er) if you happen to poke yourself.
Even with flat needles, treat your syringe as if it had a sharp point, because it still does. I usually blunt my points on a sharpening stone, then load up a syringe with water and give it a slow and steady push through the needle to check the flow of liquid. It should come out in a smooth, steady stream with no spraying droplets to the side.
Hand Position:
Changing Needles:
Removing the Needle:
IMPORTANT - NEVER *EVER* ATTACH OR REMOVE AN UNCAPPED NEEDLE. NEVER!!!
A majority of syringes use a Luer-Lock system (see below) to secure the needle to the syringe. To remove a needle, first make sure the cap is secure by giving the cap a light tap point-on onto a hard surface. Grip the cap near the locking point where the needle joins the syringe. Twist the cap firmly clockwise (based on correct hand position) until the plastic part of the needle clears the locking threads. DO NOT PULL! If done correctly, the needle will separate from the syringe.
Attaching the Needle:
Make sure the cap is securely attached by gripping the open end of the needle, putting a finger on the open end, and tapping it onto a hard surface. Hold the cap (with the needle inside) firmly near the open end. Position the needle on the syringe and twist counterclockwise until the screw threads are engaged. Stop when the needle is locked in place.
(Note: You will be screwing the capped needle onto the barrel of the syringe, not the other way around. Screwing the barrel onto the needle will often torque the base of the needle into the barrel too tightly, requiring a disproportionate amount of force and personal frustration to remove it.)
Removing the Cap:
Making sure that the needle is securely locked, put a little pressure on the cap by twisting slightly counterclockwise. Using the hand holding the barrel of the syringe, PUSH with your thumb (#1 in the picture above) on the thumb holding the cap (#2 in the picture above). The cap will separate from the needle. DO NOT REMOVE THE CAP YET. Put the whole syringe assembly down on your desk/table and pull the syringe body away - the cap will slide off, leaving you with an exposed needle. You're going to put the cap down anyway, so you might as well do it this way.
Warning: If you tip the syringe whole assembly down and allow the cap to fall, Murphy's Law will demand that the cap bounce off the table, drop to the floor, and roll into the most inaccessible space available.
Replacing the Cap:
IMPORTANT - DO NOT RECAP SYRINGES BY HOLDING THE CAP IN YOUR HAND!
Put the cap down and insert the needle into the cap. Tip the needle up so that the cap falls down onto the plastic part of the needle. Pull down on the cap slightly (again, see correct hand position picture, above) to lock the cap onto the needle. Tap the cap point-on lightly onto a hard surface.
My filling procedure:
- Attach 18 gauge needle onto your syringe (a 3ml or 5ml syringe should be fine), and pull out the plunger about 1/3 of the way.
- Insert the needle into the dropper point of your juice bottle. Holding it with the bottle up above the syringe at an angle (most holes on the dropper are small enough that it will be tight and air-sealed), pull the plunger downward, making sure that the tip of the needle is in the liquid.
- Every once in a while, release the plunger. You will notice that air will bubble up into the bottle.
- When you have enough juice in your syringe, push the needle up into the air bubble in your bottle then pull the plunger down a little more. (So the juice clears the needle and doesn't drip out when you remove the syringe from the bottle.)
- Turn the bottle and syringe upside down so that the bottle is now below the syringe.
- Wait a few seconds to let pressures equalize.
- Withdraw the syringe.
- Cap the bottle. (This is important . . . I've knocked uncapped bottles off my desk lots of times. Murphy's Law at work, yet again.)
- Recap the syringe.
- If needed, you can now change the needle of the syringe.
For open bottles without a dropper tip, just dip the point into the liquid and pull on the plunger. It helps to have your lower hand or elbows in contact with the table for stability while holding onto both the bottle and syringe. If the opening on the bottle is large enough to accept the diameter of the syringe, you can leave the needle off the syringe so it fills quicker.
Syringe needle colors:
18 Gauge= Pink. Big-bore needle.
23 Gauge= Light blue, these come standard with most syringes that come with a needle. However, some syringes my come with a 25 gauge needle (also light blue, with a smaller bore than a 23 gauge; this works OK too). If unsure what gauge needle you have, you can always check the package. Other places may have different colors assigned to their needles. (Unlikely, but very possible.)
The LOWER the number, the LARGER the bore, or opening, of the needle.
Remember: Always use a slow and steady motion when pushing or pulling on the plunger. I usually stop filling/pushing liquid when I'm about 90-95% done for about 5 seconds, just to let internal pressures equalize. I add the last little bit of juice slowly from there.
To the other professionals out there . . . let me know if I missed anything so I can add it. I will try to keep modifying this post, adding pictures as necessary, etc.
Forum moderators, please feel free to duplicate, modify, sticky, lock, or delete (if appropriate . . . I don't think it is, is it?) this post as necessary.
Final reminders:
- Safety is always your first priority!
- Secure your needles! Do not allow anyone access to your needles who isn't you.
- Dispose of your needles and syringes responsibly. Use a sharps container to hold your needles before disposal. (A sharps container is a rigid plastic or metal container with a screw-on or otherwise sealed top.) Keep in mind that there may be laws and regulations in your area regarding the disposal of certain medical equipment, such as syringes and needles. Do your due diligence and find out what those might be in your area.
- Don't do things halfway. Gather all your materials before you start working. If you have to step away from your work area, please take the time to secure your supplies properly.
- Keep it slow and steady. If you have to rush, then don't bother.
- If you think reading this post was a waste of your time, throw away ALL your syringes NOW and rediscover the joys of dripping.
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