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Injection (often referred to as a "shot" in US English, or a "jab" in UK English) is the act of putting a liquid, especially a drug, into a person's body using a needle (usually a hypodermic needle) and a syringe. Injection is a technique for delivering drugs by parenteral administration, that is, administration via a route other than through the digestive tract. Parenteral injection includes subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous, intraperitoneal, intracardiac, intraarticular and intracavernous injection.
Injection is generally administered as a bolus, but can possibly be used for continuous drug administration as well.[2] Even when administered as a bolus, the medication may be long-acting, and can then be called depot injection. Administration by an indwelling catheter is generally preferred instead of injection in case of more long-term or recurrent drug administration.
Injections are among the most common health care procedures, with at least 16 billion administered in developing and transitional countries each year.95% of injections are administered in curative care, 3% are for immunization, and the rest for other purposes, such as blood transfusions.In some instances the term injection is used synonymously with inoculation even by different workers in the same hospital. This should not cause confusion; the focus is on what is being injected/inoculated, not the terminology of the procedure.
Since the process inherently involves a small puncture wound to the body (with varying degrees of pain depending on injection type and location, medication type, needle gauge and the skill of the individual administering the injection), fear of needles is a common phobia.
Injection Pain
The pain of an injection may be lessened by prior application of ice or topical anesthetic, or simultaneous pinching of the skin. Recent studies suggest that forced coughing during an injection stimulates a transient rise in blood pressure which inhibits the perception of pain.[5] Sometimes, as with an amniocentesis, a local anesthetic is given.[6] The most common technique to reduce the pain of an injection is simply to distract the patient
Injection Safety
40% of injections worldwide are administered with unsterilized, reused syringes and needles, and in some countries this proportion is 70%, exposing millions of people to infections. Another risk is poor collection and disposal of dirty injection equipment, which exposes healthcare workers and the community to the risk of needle stick injuries. In some countries, unsafe disposal can lead to re-sale of used equipment on the black market. Many countries have legislation or policies that mandate that healthcare professionals use a safety syringe (safety engineered needle) or alternative methods of administering medicines whenever possible.Open burning of syringes, which is considered unsafe by the World Health Organization, is reported by half of the non-industrialized countries. According to one study, unsafe injections cause an estimated 1.3 million early deaths each year.