Drawing medication from a vial

Before injecting yourself, draw the medication from a vial following these simple steps:

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
• When indicated on the label, carefully shake or rotate the vial.
• Remove the vial cap and wipe the top of the vial with an alcohol wipe. Allow the alcohol to air-dry.

• Gently pull the plunger of the syringe until you've drawn the same volume of air as the volume of medication you will be drawing from the vial.
• Stick the needle through the rubber top of the vial and slowly inject the air into the vial.

• Turn the vial upside down and slowly pull on the plunger until you've drawn the correct volume of medication. Make sure that the needle is always in the solution.
• If there are air bubbles in the syringe, hold the syringe in a vertical position with the needle pointing upward. Gently tap a finger against the barrel of the syringe to get the bubbles to rise to the top. Slowly push in the plunger until all the bubbles have disappeared. Remove the needle from the vial and cover it with its cap.

Clean the skin where you plan to inject the drug using an alcohol swab and use the injection technique you learned from your health care professional.

Needles and syringes should only be used once and then thrown away since they may be dirty and blunt. Always use a sharps (disposal) container to safely discard used syringes and needles. Return the container to the pharmacy when it is full or you no longer need it.

If the vial contains several doses of medication, record the date the product was opened and store it according to the provided instructions.

Remember always to wash your hands thoroughly to reduce the risk of infection at the injection site.