Richland County Health Office Miscellaneous Services:

B12 injections, certain other Dr. ordered injections, and allergy shots

Injection Safety

Injected medicines are commonly used in healthcare settings for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various illnesses. Unsafe injection practices put patients and healthcare providers at risk of infectious and non-infectious adverse events and have been associated with a wide variety of procedures and settings. This harm is preventable. Safe injection practices are part of Standard Precautions and are aimed at maintaining basic levels of patient safety and provider protections. As defined by the World Health Organization, a safe injection does not harm the recipient, does not expose the provider to any avoidable risks and does not result in waste that is dangerous for the community. Visit the page on CDC’s role in safe injection practices.

Injection safety, or safe injection practices, is a set of measures taken to perform injections in an optimally safe manner for patients, healthcare personnel, and others. A safe injection does not harm the recipient, does not expose the provider to any avoidable risks, and does not result in waste that is dangerous for the community. Injection safety includes practices intended to prevent transmission of infectious diseases between one patient and another, or between a patient and healthcare provider, and also to prevent harms such as needlestick injuries.

Patient Information

Patients need to be aware that unsafe injection practices can be a serious threat to their health. Healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, and anyone providing injections) should never reuse a needle or syringe either from one patient to another or to withdraw medication from a vial. Both needle and syringe must be discarded once they have been used. It is not safe to change the needle and reuse the syringe – this practice can transmit disease.

Reusing a needle or syringe can put patients in danger of getting hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and HIV.

 “Injection Safety.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., 9 Feb. 2011. Web. 26 May 2015.