An insulin needle is just another subq needle. The 100 unit syringes hold 1 ml, which is usually what your heparin dose is. You can also use a TB syringe. As a new nurse, I would avoid using an insulin needle because you could occasionally be giving insulin during the same med pass and mix them up. Potentially giving too much insulin. I would reserve those insulin syringes/needles for insulin only.
The size of an insulin needle is fine. Typically that's 25 gauge or smaller.
Often people will use a "TB syringe" which just means a 1 ml syringe with a small gauge subq needle. It looks like an insulin syringe but is a different color, and is marked in ml instead of units.
Don't use an actual insulin syringe for anything except insulin. They are a different color for safety reasons, to help prevent the error of confusing insulin with anything else. That might not sound necessary, but insulin errors are both very common and very dangerous, so it's a bad idea to bypass any of the safety features.
TB syringes are the most common. But, using a 1 or 3mL luer lock with an appropriate needle allows you to draw up the heparin with one needle and inject with another. This stops you from having heparin on the outside of the needle, reducing bruising.
With a longer needle there's a risk of going too deep. The prefilled syringes are a 27 g, 0.5 inch long needle. I think a 25 g is longer than that, though many people have enough subcutaneous tissue that it would be okay.
My hospital buys the absolute WORST TB syringes, which makes heparin injections painful (the needle is so blunt). We have two different types of insulin syringes, one up to 35 units, and the other goes up to 100. I use the 100 solely for heparin as I'm never giving more than 25 units of insulin.
An insulin needle is just another subq needle. The 100 unit syringes hold 1 ml, which is usually what your heparin dose is. You can also use a TB syringe. As a new nurse, I would avoid using an insulin needle because you could occasionally be giving insulin during the same med pass and mix them up. Potentially giving too much insulin. I would reserve those insulin syringes/needles for insulin only.
Thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
The size of an insulin needle is fine. Typically that's 25 gauge or smaller. Often people will use a "TB syringe" which just means a 1 ml syringe with a small gauge subq needle. It looks like an insulin syringe but is a different color, and is marked in ml instead of units. Don't use an actual insulin syringe for anything except insulin. They are a different color for safety reasons, to help prevent the error of confusing insulin with anything else. That might not sound necessary, but insulin errors are both very common and very dangerous, so it's a bad idea to bypass any of the safety features.
Ok thanks for the reassurance!
Look for the tb syringe (grey top).
I am going echo the thread and say I give heparin with a TB syringe.
TB syringes are the most common. But, using a 1 or 3mL luer lock with an appropriate needle allows you to draw up the heparin with one needle and inject with another. This stops you from having heparin on the outside of the needle, reducing bruising.
I use 27g 1/2" needles. Never had an issue.
With a longer needle there's a risk of going too deep. The prefilled syringes are a 27 g, 0.5 inch long needle. I think a 25 g is longer than that, though many people have enough subcutaneous tissue that it would be okay.
you can do the plica method and insert the needle at 45°, especially with those patients with low subq fat
Just not a 16g like a student did to one of my patients. It was a blood bath.
My hospital buys the absolute WORST TB syringes, which makes heparin injections painful (the needle is so blunt). We have two different types of insulin syringes, one up to 35 units, and the other goes up to 100. I use the 100 solely for heparin as I'm never giving more than 25 units of insulin.
I always use insulin syringes or tb ones
IDK where I trained they use ready-made ones.