911 : Missed shot in hand , very scared.

[ComaChaser]

I shot dope in the top of my hand like I've done many many times. I registered fine , and proceeded to sink the plunger. I instantly knew something was wrong from the itchy , painful feeling that was spreading through my hand. I looked on my palm and could see the white swelling I'm used to seeing with a miss , but this was very intense , and never had it gone to my palm. It then spread to the bas of my index finger where it proceeded to swell and get very violent. Now , the base of my index finger has swollen so much that it I can't close my hand. The skin seems very tight and it's really agitated. I still can't close my hand. I have applied warm compresses etc , but it seemed to have very little effect.

Has this happened to anyone?

I'm really looking for someone to say that this has happened to them and the swelling etc went away. I've missed before , alot actually , but this one has me really worried.

Please help.

[red26]

with that kind of swelling I'd be iceing it. Iwould THINK that if its swelled like this and hot take some benadryl and ice it. I could be wrong, but at this point the benadryl wont hurt and I highly doubt the ice will either. keep us posted.

[jonny-5]

take some benadryl and then wait. only time will cure this. but you should be fine.

[Pantopon Pete]

I would bet my next bag that you just experienced your first artery shot, my friend. Did the pain shoot towards your fingers, instead of back up your arm? Arteries carry blood AWAY from your heart, while veins carry blood TO your heart. I've done this, even when I was in what I thought was a regularly used vein in my hand- it registers perfect, but the second you push that plunger in, you feel the most intense, icy, prickly burning you've ever felt. It almost feels like boiling water filling up the inside of your hand. Yucko. Makes me cringe just to remember it.

But yeah, the couple of times I've done it, the swelling and pain goes away in 2 or 3 days.

[Duckfeet]

My first guess was you hit a nerve, which often happens in hands, but I guess you could hit an arterial vein there...but anything like that, I know it would drive me bananas...but unless it gets infected, I wouldn't sweat it...give it a day or two...of course, depends on what it was, too...if it was tar, then the odds of getting infected seem to increase...anyway, by now hopefully it's going down...if it gets worse, head to ER...but then, you already knew that...

[SeVeN]

shooting in hands or feet can be very bad when you miss. Or sometimes even after a clean hit. Plus once you run down to your hands and feet you've run out of shotting space.

[candy]

Actually, put your dope away....not to sound sarcastic in anyway, but an artery hit has very distinct characteristics;
Once you hit an artery, the syringe is going to fill with very frothy bright red blood that will pump out hard and fast and before you know what has happened your plunger has just shot towards the ceiling.
Artery shots are painful and 2 things to remember; #1, Your syringe will fill fast with frothy or foamy very bright red blood and will pump like your heart beat; #2, Get a pressure bandage on that quick and for 15 minutes plus.

Hitting in the hands and missing can bring about this reaction. Vessels and tissues is close to the skins surface and if you have hit a nerve....lots of swelling and the feelings you describe.
Heat if you missed the shot and cold if you hit a nerve.

And Pete....sounds like you hit a nerve too! Bet my RN license on it! LOL! This coming from an RN and former junkie too! Please don't feel like I am stepping on toes...Been away for awhile, but these areas are my expertise and what I do for a living......Harm Reduction with IV drug users!

Friends Pete?



I would bet my next bag that you just experienced your first artery shot, my friend. Did the pain shoot towards your fingers, instead of back up your arm? Arteries carry blood AWAY from your heart, while veins carry blood TO your heart. I've done this, even when I was in what I thought was a regularly used vein in my hand- it registers perfect, but the second you push that plunger in, you feel the most intense, icy, prickly burning you've ever felt. It almost feels like boiling water filling !up the inside of your hand. Yucko. Makes me cringe just to remember it.

But yeah, the couple of times I've done it, the swelling and pain goes away in 2 or 3 days.

[roxi*stardust]

Actually, put your dope away....not to sound sarcastic in anyway, but an artery hit has very distinct characteristics;
Once you hit an artery, the syringe is going to fill with very frothy bright red blood that will pump out hard and fast and before you know what has happened your plunger has just shot towards the ceiling.
Artery shots are painful and 2 things to remember; #1, Your syringe will fill fast with frothy or foamy very bright red blood and will pump like your heart beat; #2, Get a pressure bandage on that quick and for 15 minutes plus.

Hitting in the hands and missing can bring about this reaction. Vessels and tissues is close to the skins surface and if you have hit a nerve....lots of swelling and the feelings you describe.
Heat if you missed the shot and cold if you hit a nerve.

And Pete....sounds like you hit a nerve too! Bet my RN license on it! LOL! This coming from an RN and former junkie too! Please don't feel like I am stepping on toes...Been away for awhile, but these areas are my expertise and what I do for a living......Harm Reduction with IV drug users!

Friends Pete?


I have to agree with Candy on this one. Although users who choose injection sites in the hand or wrist are more likely to experience an IA shot because of the location of arteries (many being superficial or closer to the skin than they are in other parts of the body) and the because the Radial and Ulnar Arteries are located so close to the larger veins in the hand/wrist, I don't think this is what the OP experienced. Intra-aterial injections (IA) have very distinct characteristics like Candy mentioned, the first thing you will notice is the intense pain; often described as an extreme burning, prickly, tingling sensation and extreme the pressure from the blood that is being forced into the syringe. Candy also mentioned the difference in the color and appearance of the blood.

[Poppylvr]

I have to agree with Candy on this one. Although users who choose injection sites in the hand or wrist are more likely to experience an IA shot because of the location of arteries (many being superficial or closer to the skin than they are in other parts of the body) and the because the Radial and Ulnar Arteries are located so close to the larger veins in the hand/wrist, I don't think this is what the OP experienced. Intra-aterial injections (IA) have very distinct characteristics like Candy mentioned, the first thing you will notice is the intense pain; often described as an extreme burning, prickly, tingling sensation and extreme the pressure from the blood that is being forced into the syringe. Candy also mentioned the difference in the color and appearance of the blood.

Let's make it a triple Medical Professh Play - I believe the original poster missed a venous shot, not made an arterial shot. Like Candy eloquently described, arterial shots are hard to misunderstand.
COMACHASER!!! How's your handbone today?

[Pantopon Pete]

Yeah, I didn't bother mentioning the different qualities of the blood in the register, but i knew from bthe outward radiation of the pain that they were IA hits. I didn't think the OP's prob was a nerve hit because the pain wouldn't occur with the pushing of the plunger, it would happen at the moment of sticking the needle into the nerve. but I'll defer to the medical professionals here for the sake of all-important harm reduction.

And yeah, thanks a lot, candy... my toes are killing me now tahnks to you stepping on them. Just kidding.

[SHELLEY]

Has this happened to anyone?

I'm really looking for someone to say that this has happened to them and the swelling etc went away. I've missed before , alot actually , but this one has me really worried.

Please help.

ya shot in your palm i bet
it's easy to miss in your palm
and there are so many little tiny nerves and blood vessels in there
that it's easy to get a big purple knob

so here's what you're looking for:
that's happened to me lotsa times
the swelling went away
no bullshit! :D

[ComaChaser]

Update : All is well. Things have returned to normal. I guess it was a bad miss. Definitely not an artery thing. The excess dope traveled to the base of my index finger and swole the shit out of it , preventing my hand from closing. It was just the most adverse reaction i've ever had , and it was really scary.


Thanks for all the info guys.


-Coma