Swabbing with alcohol before injection

[Woowoo]

I'd like to do a poll to see how many IV users swab the injection site with alcohol prior to hitting up.

For purposes of this poll please don't answer unless you are really an IV user. To meet that definition let's say you IV drugs at a rate greater than 100 times per year (roughly twice per week). Of course most IV users are far beyond that figure, but if you just do IV drugs only once in a great while as a treat, then please abstain from voting. Thanks.

[nick]

I always swabbed before and after.Then,again works exchange issue them free here.

[Woowoo]

I always swabbed before and after.
I don't think swabbing with alcohol after the shot is a good idea. Alcohol kills your cells just as quickly as it kills the germs. And if you swabbed prior, then what are you going to be killing there anyhow? Just your own cells. I could be wrong--maybe one of our registered nurses can confirm that swabbing after the shot isn't normal medical procedure.

[chemboy7]

Alcohol is sooo cheap there is really no reason not to.

[Cureforpain]

I always do before. Afterwards, I almost always use neosporin.

[Chemical_Boy]

I usually swab the first time, but when I shoot (in the past of course;)) it is usually coke. After the first hit, it becomes a mad scramble to get the next one and those things that are not critical tend to get left out.

Not all the time though. . . .I try to be sanitary.

I do at least wash my hands all the time while doing that shit.

[madnesscult]

I used to, but since I have to poke myself so many times, I don't. The swabs usually dry out by the time I find a vein.

[kyuss]

I snort
but the two times
I shot up I swabbed

[Chipper]

Sometimes I swab prior but never after (swabs slow down coagulation time, so i hear). I always swab my fingers before handling the cotton.

[HeidiW]

I'm a lazy motherfucker and should be more careful about the way I shoot dope. I seem to get cotton fever more than anyone I've ever seen. I'm sure it's due to the haphazard way I do shit. It's really kind of weird, as I'm so obsessive about keeping my home as neat as a pin. But when it comes to the dope I do, it seems I just want to get that blast done as fast as I can and to hell with it. I never fuck with cotton swabs/pads.
It's fucking stupid too, as my old man's a diabetic and gets the damned things free from his Dr. They're all over my house. I just don't take the time to use them. Now if I'm using speed, I use them. I'm really particular about how I do the crank, probably cause I'm all gacked out, taking WAY longer than usual to do one.

[nick]

I don't think swabbing with alcohol after the shot is a good idea. Alcohol kills your cells just as quickly as it kills the germs. And if you swabbed prior, then what are you going to be killing there anyhow? Just your own cells. I could be wrong--maybe one of our registered nurses can confirm that swabbing after the shot isn't normal medical procedure.

So I hear bro,but I got tired of sitting in a bloodbath afterwards.


I have poor veins.

[poppy]

Nick, as always you make me laugh!!! I can totally relate to the bloodbath problem!!! However in my case an alcohol swab is just not enough, more usual for me is a towel!! Talk about the chain saw massacre (sp) it has nothing on me!!!
In case you're wondering I too have poor veins!! (Lets blame it on genetics, its clearly our parents fault that we struggle hitting up!!) just joking!!

[SuperJunky]

I do from time to time but I usually don't bother, I try to wash my hands etc first but when your sick, been working from 4:30 AM till about 1:00 in the afternoon, doing hard physical labor, then you make the 45 minute drive to the city where I score, then wait 20 minutes or more for the dealer to show, I don't care about a damned thing but getting well. I could have 4 inches of shit (literally shit, like manure) on my hands and all the way up my arm and I'd just cook that shit up w/ a month old club soda, scrape enough off so I can see where the vain is and poke right through. Then I would go wash up etc. after I'm straight. I've never (*KNOCKS ON WOOD*) had an abcess or any other problem, and I've seriously done this before. Not smart I know, but I'm sure you can all relate to just wanting to feel like a living human being again.

As far as using an alchohol swab afterwards to stop the blood bath the alchohol will actually stop the puncture from clotting, causing more blood, not less...

[vanilla_mlkshake2007]

I never use` alcohol preps ,Maybe thats why I got so many abcesses and I also got Hep B & C,but I am a very responsible junky and will never ever share needles with someone.If they insist I simply tell them the truth"You were an inch close of catching Hep B & C. Then I tell them to be` more careful cuz most junkies won't bother saying a word.It's true that is how I got it on my 19th Birthday.What a great present!! Now Chirosis of the Liver has invaded my liver and I have 1-3 years left to live with only 40 % of my liver left,and it is not repairable.It is totally hard and grey.My bad!

[nick]

I do from time to time but I usually don't bother, I try to wash my hands etc first but when your sick, been working from 4:30 AM till about 1:00 in the afternoon, doing hard physical labor, then you make the 45 minute drive to the city where I score, then wait 20 minutes or more for the dealer to show, I don't care about a damned thing but getting well. I could have 4 inches of shit (literally shit, like manure) on my hands and all the way up my arm and I'd just cook that shit up w/ a month old club soda, scrape enough off so I can see where the vain is and poke right through. Then I would go wash up etc. after I'm straight. I've never (*KNOCKS ON WOOD*) had an abcess or any other problem, and I've seriously done this before. Not smart I know, but I'm sure you can all relate to just wanting to feel like a living human being again.

As far as using an alchohol swab afterwards to stop the blood bath the alchohol will actually stop the puncture from clotting, causing more blood, not less...

You mean you haven't had an abscess YET.Something to look forward to right?


Look bro,when you sitting there panting,covered in blood,you just want it off you.Even if it's an illusion,the effort makes you feel better-as a junkie,you should understand.

Oh and Vanilla,great to see you back.

[candy]

As your Harm Reduction Nurse, I demand you all use alcohol wipes! LOL!!!!

Or just buy a bottle of alchohol at Walgreens and some cotton balls. They are cheap. They even sell the alchohol swabs there for cheap.

NE should have them and may only be able to give you a limited amount.

And it takes 1 minute to wash your hands!

Hep C transmission is from sharing a dirty needle or dirty water or cottons, really any equipment-even a straw or what you use for snorting if you share it!

I know we all get in a hurry and sometimes you are feeling that sickness setting in, but please for your safety, a few extra steps will help prevent those ugly, nasty looking abscesses. Especially for anyone sexually active, there is nothing that will turn someone off more than a oozy smelly abscess. LOL!

And ladies, don't you want to keep those bods looking good, not that I swing that way( only men for me), but a lady should take pride in the way she looks and smells!

And this isn't all coming from some nurse who just decided to work with a bunch of junkies....I myself am (hmm., how do I word this.... A former junkie myself)

So anything that is typed in these threads not only comes from nursing experience, but from my own personal experience and with both, I am here to help! I also got Hep C and went through treatment, so I can really connect with all here! And, I do it because I love it and I just always feel pulled in the direction of other opiophiles like myself to help. One day it might be me in need of you!

Sorry about my trailing off there, it's late, I'm tired and I have so much to do!

So, no excuses Miss Heidi!

Take care everyone

[candy]

OH No! I just looked at the poll and almost 35% of you don't clean the site! Shame on you, LOL!

C'mon guys.......You will thank yourself later and even now!

[nick]

OH No! I just looked at the poll and almost 35% of you don't clean the site! Shame on you, LOL!

C'mon guys.......You will thank yourself later and even now!

Oh sister Candy,you should know by now that , you can lead a horse to water,but a junky must be forced at gun point.

[matfield]

yeah me too- alcohol pads before and after.
And washing your hands is so important ,too.
We have a campaign over here at the moment it goes (vor dem spritzen nach dem spritzen händewaschen!)
(before shooting and afterwards-wash your hands)

[Woowoo]

OH No! I just looked at the poll and almost 35% of you don't clean the site! Shame on you, LOL!
Candy -- what's the official medical stance on swabbing with alcohol after the injection? That's a no-no, right?

[nick]

Candy -- what's the official medical stance on swabbing with alcohol after the injection? That's a no-no, right?

When have you EVER been bothered by medical orthodoxy?

[Woowoo]

Well nick I see a lot of people here declaring that they swab the injection site after the damage is done, and I think that this is not only pointless but actually a bad idea. Not as bad as failure to pre-swab, but still bad, especially if you are trying to avoid having arms that have "drug user" written all over them.

If you looked at my arms right now you wouldn't even know I use. Well maybe you would but if so, only because you have an expert eye for that kind of thing. Most people wouldn't. And that's pretty cool!! I believe that if I wiped my injection sites with alcohol after each shot, that wouldn't be the case.

So while some of us are really dumb and don't pre-swab (I plead guilty) others may be overzealous with the swabbing. I'm no great source of medical wisdom so maybe our resident nurse can verify this.

[nick]

Oh bro,I'm sorry I'm having one of those naked lunch days-when you see what's on the end of the frozen fork.

Pre swabbing is very good.


I swabed after because I'm an idiot loser.

Take care.

[superman]

I don't think swabbing with alcohol after the shot is a good idea. Alcohol kills your cells just as quickly as it kills the germs. And if you swabbed prior, then what are you going to be killing there anyhow? Just your own cells. I could be wrong--maybe one of our registered nurses can confirm that swabbing after the shot isn't normal medical procedure.

you're absolutely right, alcohol is not good to put on wounds. if you clean the site properly before shooting then there is no need to do anything further

I always swab. i carry around a little plastic 5ml vial of iso with my kit. don't need to refill it any more than once every 3-4 days

so that's 500ml per month, and at a whopping $5 (i buy the more expensive 99%(as opposed to 70%) simply because i use it for other purposes as well)

So ya, $5 a month to prevent infection that have the potential to kill me, hell of a deal IMO

I always swab my fingers before handling the cotton.

NBow there's a good fucking point i NEVER see raised. I always handle my cotton with a piece of toilet paper, and nudge it into the spoon using my point

[Woowoo]

Don't any of you slap your veins, and if so how does that fit in? I swabbed the other day for one of the first times in my life, and then out of habit started to slap my favorite vein to make it come to the surface a little more. Well I just un-did all of that swabbing didn't I?

[brutaltattoo]

I cant stress enough how important it is to use a new work and keep it super clean! I was just in the hospital for 2 weeks with Celulitus in the ankle. Celulitus is an infection of the skin but mine hapen to go into the joint so I had to have surgury to clean it out. Then I was on IV anti biotics for 6 weeks. I had to have a PICC line installed. (GOOGLE PICC LINE).

It was the most pain I have ever felt so PLEASE SWAB BEFORE YOU HIT!!! ALWAYS USE A NEW WORK!

Brutaltattoo

[Chipper]

Good advice - I have had Celulitis (skin), as well and it as quite painful. I picked it up in a hospital when
they were taking blood (of all things) from my foot.

Anyway, welcome to the site. You can always post in the "I Be New Here" section and introduce yourself.

[Johnny Two-bags]

I never swab, and sometimes I get what I think are abcesses. It's happened 3 times. Now bare in mind, I've only been shooting dope for 5 months or so, but they are small little hard build-ups that form in the area of an injection site and can shut down a favorite vein for weeks.

Is it because I'm not swabbing?

[candy]

I never swab, and sometimes I get what I think are abcesses. It's happened 3 times. Now bare in mind, I've only been shooting dope for 5 months or so, but they are small little hard build-ups that form in the area of an injection site and can shut down a favorite vein for weeks.

Is it because I'm not swabbing?



Could very well be and washing your hands before as well is a good idea. Think of it this way....If you went to the doctor, would you want him or his nurse to stick you if they had dirty hands and didn't clean your skin? Most likely no!

Keeping your equipment clean, using a new needle each time, cleaning the site with alcohol or washing well with soap and water, washing your hands, using clean water, is the best way to go! It doesn't matter how long you have used. It is your technique. You wouldn't want surgery with dirty instruments, so keep yours clean and use a clean technique.

[Opiyum]

I always swabbed before and after.Then,again works exchange issue them free here.

Wouldn't swabbing after only make it bleed more?

Nevermind....i continued reading. I simply forgot how much of a loser you are.

[candy]

Wouldn't swabbing after only make it bleed more?

Nevermind....i continued reading. I simply forgot how much of a loser you are.


Absolutely, swabbing after only makes you bleed more. If you want to wash the site with soap and warm water after injecting , that's fine. I wouldn't worry about introducing any bacteria into the site after injecting. If you put a bit of pressure on the site after injection, the bleeding should stop and the coagulated blood keeps it relatively safe.

Then again, unless your using a 12 gauge needle, you should not have a wound there.

I have never had an abscess in all the years I injected. I stayed away from sharing anything someone else had used, always washed my hands and cleaned the site, and kept my equipment clean. Doing this should keep you safe from infection.

And I know sometimes that your so sick or just don't want to wait until you get home or some place where you can wash up and take your time, but it is worth it in the long run if you can wait.

I won't comment on your statement regarding Nick except to say not nice!

[chemboy7]

I cant stress enough how important it is to use a new work and keep it super clean! I was just in the hospital for 2 weeks with Celulitus in the ankle. Celulitus is an infection of the skin but mine hapen to go into the joint so I had to have surgury to clean it out. Then I was on IV anti biotics for 6 weeks. I had to have a PICC line installed. (GOOGLE PICC LINE).

It was the most pain I have ever felt so PLEASE SWAB BEFORE YOU HIT!!! ALWAYS USE A NEW WORK!

Brutaltattoo

Am I the only one that reads this and get's jelous of the PICC line? I wish I had one sometimes, not Celulitus though... that part's brutal.

[tui]

Absolutely, swabbing after only makes you bleed more. If you want to wash the site with soap and warm water after injecting , that's fine. I wouldn't worry about introducing any bacteria into the site after injecting. If you put a bit of pressure on the site after injection, the bleeding should stop and the coagulated blood keeps it relatively safe.

Then again, unless your using a 12 gauge needle, you should not have a wound there.

I have never had an abscess in all the years I injected. I stayed away from sharing anything someone else had used, always washed my hands and cleaned the site, and kept my equipment clean. Doing this should keep you safe from infection.

And I know sometimes that your so sick or just don't want to wait until you get home or some place where you can wash up and take your time, but it is worth it in the long run if you can wait.

I won't comment on your statement regarding Nick except to say not nice!


I never had an abscess til i used coke.
Heroin seems to absorb okay if a bit spills out of the vein... unlike coke, that just wells up. In fact, my veins were just great when i was only putting h into them. My memory of swabbing is pretty hazy. At the beginning i was a swabber, until h made me invincible (...or maybe i just stopped caring?) Same thing with filtering. And re-using fits, and all those grubby things i said i'd never do.

t

[candy]

I never had an abscess til i used coke.
Heroin seems to absorb okay if a bit spills out of the vein... unlike coke, that just wells up. In fact, my veins were just great when i was only putting h into them. My memory of swabbing is pretty hazy. At the beginning i was a swabber, until h made me invincible (...or maybe i just stopped caring?) Same thing with filtering. And re-using fits, and all those grubby things i said i'd never do.

t


I never thought I would do the things I did and I had some education. We do what we do in desperate times and regret them later.

We know better now, Right?

[Sitar]

I've only shot up a couple dozen times or so in my whole life, but I voted for always swabbing with alcohol. And for that matter, I always wiped my hands with rubbing alcohol prior to injecting also. I'm obsessive with the cleanliness of it because I'm so scared of anything going wrong or becoming infected.

I always hate to see people injecting by poking their dirty-ass fingers on the vein right before putting the needle in. It's like they're just asking for an infection by doing that. Sometimes I would poke at the vein first, too, but my fingers had just been cleaned with alcohol.

The main reason I never got into shooting up is because I'm horrible at it. I have botched it far more times than I ever got it right. Most of the time, I either couldn't hit a vein for shit or I didn't hit it right and I'd wind up with a painful swollen missed hit. Even when I actually did manage to get a proper hit, I was usually left with huge bruises that took at least a week to go away. Of course, it didn't help that I had to use massive veterinary needles from the Tractor Supply Center instead of the tiny little insulin syringes most of you use.

[Woowoo]

The main reason I never got into shooting up is because I'm horrible at it. I have botched it far more times than I ever got it right.
Just about everybody I know who is into IV drugs was tutored by other people who are into it. There's really a lot to know--it's nothing you can learn just by reading a manual, it takes practice and one-on-one lessons. That's also why so much bad information is passed around--the guy who taught me how to hit up didn't use alcohol, so I didn't, until just recently based on discussions like this one.

In summary, don't try to learn how to do it if you don't know. It's nothing to be proud of, and can only bring trouble. Just like your momma used to warn you: if you hang out with the "wrong crowd", soon you'll find yourself a dope fiend. If your friends aren't all junkies, you'll probably be OK.

[Synack]

someone should teach me.... I'm making a fucking mess out of my arm... maybe even with a small abcess so far....lmao.

but otherwise, I kinda pour alcohol down my arm - I don't need bateria traveling and shit, it's like a mass arm bateria nuke...die fuckers!

[Woowoo]

someone should teach me.... I'm making a fucking mess out of my arm... maybe even with a small abcess so far....lmao.
That's not an "LMAO" situation. Unless of course you mean "Laughing My ARM Off", ala "Requiem for a Dream".

You want to get inside the vein, deposit the goodies, and pull back out with the minimum damage. If you have to jab yourself 10 times for each hit, you'll wear your veins out 10 times faster than normal. And yet, even 10 jabs is better than a miss. Don't find yourself saying "oh fuck it" and pushing the drugs in knowing that you're going to miss. I know, the rig is all bloody, blood is running down your arm, it's disgusting, but hey, YOU are the one who wanted to be an IV drug user. Nobody has a gun to your head forcing you to do this.

A good part of the skill is aiming. You can't be 2 milimeteres off and expect it to work--you have to get the needle right in that little blood vessel. The angle of attack is also important; if you try to come in on a really steep angle it's easy to miss, but too low of an angle and the needle tends to ride along paralel to the vein without going in. The orientation of the end of the needle is important: the flat side should be facing up. That means you might have to rotate your rig. Some people (myself included) like to create suction before the needle actually goes in the vein: needle breaks the skin, then I pull back on the plunger to create a vaccuum, then when the needle taps the vein I'm instantly rewarded with a blossoming purple rose. This prevents me from pushing the needle too far and skewering the vein clear through.

If you have any specific questions that I can answer, PM me.

Anyhow, there is so much to say on the subject, and this is off-topic for this thread, so I'll stop there. Somebody should make a thread on this subject. I don't want to encourage people to start hitting up, but if they already have a needle in their arm there's no reason to see them make a bloody mess out of themselves.

[Sitar]

Good tips there, Woowoo.

I actually just tried to teach myself the art of shooting up; I never had anyone show me how (even though one of my girlfriends was actually a phlebotomist, I didn't want her to know I was into that stuff).

I'll bet I was usually keeping the needle too flat on the skin. I've always read to keep the needle almost flat against the skin when going in, so I probably took that a little too far, and it probably resulted in just scratching the top of the vein, which made it register in the syringe, but then missed when I'd push it in.

It's probably a good thing that I never could really properly shoot up. The handful of times I got it right were nice, but the far greater number of times that I fucked it up makes me associate shooting up mostly with bad things (pain, bruises, swelling).

[blackdog]

I always do before. Afterwards, I almost always use neosporin.

yeah fer sure on the neosporin not the ointment! but the cream with the pain relief. i use that shit like suzy chapstick uses well uh ........you get the idea? no?
anyways about alchohol swabing the area and keeping clean .....well uhm i umm uh i try.
but if you ever saw the shit that goes down with my process of i/v useage oh man ...fughedabouditt!!
i admit it i hardly ever well actually never ever use a alchohol swab to clean my injection site ever in my 23 years of i/v drugs use at the most i would be lucky to have a new syringe and to have washed my hands and arm before shooting. damn some of the shit i've done is asking fer trouble but i always figured that what doesnt kill me or get me sick will only make me stronger. and so i bet you'll be hard to find a germ or sumthin that my body hasnt allready been introduced to and then gone on to make them killer antibodies so they never can get at me the next time without instantly being crushed by my i/v army. hah hee oh man i shouldnt be laughing cause i seen what a staff infection can do and that flesh eating bacteria disease scares the crap outta me . but will that stop me from shootin dope with out preping. hell even fresh water i'm to lazy to get up and change my bottle of water weeks on days hell ive puuled moths outta the bottle and still used it to mix up me shots oh myyyyy
oh and what about droping the set and being afraid of getting pricked by it and so it lands onthe floor. my un vacumed unswept never cleaned in over 10 years bedroom floor. yes i'm a pig! oink
oh no wait i'm the BLACKDAWGG,:cool:

[candy]

I don't think it is necessary to wash your hands in alcohol before injection.
It is better to wash your hands with an antibacterial soap.
But one thing to remember: It is not just the fact you wash your hands it is how long you wash them. You should at least wash them for 30 sec. cleaning between your fingers and getting under your fingernails.
OK, so I know that most won't do this, but washing your hands for at least 15 months is good enough and no need for an alcohol bath.
After that, swab the site with an alcohol wipe or a cotton ball and acohol from the store.

If your skin is incredibly dirty, maybe washing that limb or a nice shower before with soap would also help too. Then you can clean the area with alcohol.

But, before I end this post. It is not enough to just clean the site.Make sure you are using a new needle and not one used previously or many times before. Keeping your equipment clean, including your WATER, is important.
Use new clean water to cook with and rinse with. Then discard it and dry your cup if that is what you use to prevent little bacteria growing in your glass!

[Woowoo]

A few weeks ago I was up all night doing shots, using this glass of water for my shots, and then I hit the sack. I woke up in the morning and fixed myself up a shot out of the same glass of water.

Then once the drugs were in me, I was enjoying the rush of my morning fix, and I noticed something floating in the glass of water... a little flying insect had died in there!

Ewwwww gross!!!

Am I gonna die now?

[candy]

A few weeks ago I was up all night doing shots, using this glass of water for my shots, and then I hit the sack. I woke up in the morning and fixed myself up a shot out of the same glass of water.

Then once the drugs were in me, I was enjoying the rush of my morning fix, and I noticed something floating in the glass of water... a little flying insect had died in there!

Ewwwww gross!!!

Am I gonna die now?

Maybe, it depends on the bug! What kind of bug do you think it was?

Just playing around with you...No your gonna live and be fine!:)

I know there are some who just use in one specific place in there home, say a bedroom and keep a glass or some kind of cup to cook with and rinse with.
This is just not a good idea, especially if you share it with others.
But even if it is just you using that water, pour it down the drain and use clean water to cook with and clean water to rinse.
Yeah, I know it may be somewhat inconveinent but trust me! Leaving that water out is just a big old pool of nasty ickiness, especially when fungus is starting to form and your putting it into your veins. And not all of us use H we need to cook up.

If you have a needle exchange where you live they give out little vials of sterile water used for cooking up dope and for rinsing.

So Woo, I hope that after reading this you pour out that water and get new water for each shot.
I would hate to see you with some nasty abscess or some strange fungal infection.

[SHELLEY]

I'm a lazy motherfucker and should be more careful about the way I shoot dope. I seem to get cotton fever more than anyone I've ever seen. I'm sure it's due to the haphazard way I do shit. It's really kind of weird, as I'm so obsessive about keeping my home as neat as a pin. But when it comes to the dope I do, it seems I just want to get that blast done as fast as I can and to hell with it. I never fuck with cotton swabs/pads.
It's fucking stupid too, as my old man's a diabetic and gets the damned things free from his Dr. They're all over my house. I just don't take the time to use them. Now if I'm using speed, I use them. I'm really particular about how I do the crank, probably cause I'm all gacked out, taking WAY longer than usual to do one.

wanna hear something weird?
i never swabbed with alcohol
i'll stick myself 30 or 40 times with the same rig
pretty much until there's a hook on the end of it
(you booters know what i mean by a hook)

i carry a dope cooker in my purse and don't ever rinse it
it's ALL coated with:
dried h solution
hardened chunks of cotton
dirt
the black stuff from the bottom
and tobacco flakes
i just dump my shit into it and cook and shoot

i use the same cotton over and over
even if it's been sitting in my nasty cooker
in my nasty purse

but i've never got cotton fever
or an infection

i shared a needle, once!
got hep c
that i wouldn't reccommend
but ya gotta do what ya gotta do...

but between a needle, a cooker, q-tips (or some kind of cotton) a lighter, and water
that's enough fuck shit for my junkie ass to carry around
i'm not about to start carrying a bottle of "suicide booze" too

[SHELLEY]

Maybe, it depends on the bug! What kind of bug do you think it was?

Just playing around with you...No your gonna live and be fine!:)

I know there are some who just use in one specific place in there home, say a bedroom and keep a glass or some kind of cup to cook with and rinse with.
This is just not a good idea, especially if you share it with others.
But even if it is just you using that water, pour it down the drain and use clean water to cook with and clean water to rinse.
Yeah, I know it may be somewhat inconveinent but trust me! Leaving that water out is just a big old pool of nasty ickiness, especially when fungus is starting to form and your putting it into your veins. And not all of us use H we need to cook up.

If you have a needle exchange where you live they give out little vials of sterile water used for cooking up dope and for rinsing.

So Woo, I hope that after reading this you pour out that water and get new water for each shot.
I would hate to see you with some nasty abscess or some strange fungal infection.

good advice
i'm gonna start cleaning up my habit
i can shoot dope without being dirty about it

i use the same glass of water for all my shots too
right by my bed
i see little bugs and hairs and floating shit in there all the time
and say to myself,
"fuck it,
after this shot i'll go change the water"

no needle exchanges in florida
not here in the dirrrty south

[candy]

good advice
i'm gonna start cleaning up my habit
i can shoot dope without being dirty about it

i use the same glass of water for all my shots too
right by my bed
i see little bugs and hairs and floating shit in there all the time
and say to myself,
"fuck it,
after this shot i'll go change the water"

no needle exchanges in florida
not here in the dirrrty south

Well Shelly, I am glad to hear that you are willing to make some changes.
And although all these years you have not have an infection or cotton fever, your still using.
And by making some changes in your habits will prevent you from carry on your luck with not having an infection.

And yes, get rid of that water...Clean water each time and water to cook and different water to rinse.

[irish]

I always, always, always swab with alcohol. I also swab the needle so it does not carry anything into the puncture. I carry a small purel hand sanitizer bottle with me. This stuff is just as strong as rubbing alcohol and no-one will question why you carry it. I have had abscesses in the past when I did not do this and have not had one since. Cleanliness is just like being polite-it doesn't really take any more effort and you will thank yourself for it later.

[blackdog]

I don't think it is necessary to wash your hands in alcohol before injection.
It is better to wash your hands with an antibacterial soap.
But one thing to remember: It is not just the fact you wash your hands it is how long you wash them. You should at least wash them for 30 sec. cleaning between your fingers and getting under your fingernails.
OK, so I know that most won't do this, but (washing your hands for at least 15 months is) :pgood enough and no need for an alcohol bath.
After that, swab the site with an alcohol wipe or a cotton ball and acohol from the store.

If your skin is incredibly dirty, maybe washing that limb or a nice shower before with soap would also help too. Then you can clean the area with alcohol.

But, before I end this post. It is not enough to just clean the site.Make sure you are using a new needle and not one used previously or many times before. Keeping your equipment clean, including your WATER, is important.
Use new clean water to cook with and rinse with. Then discard it and dry your cup if that is what you use to prevent little bacteria growing in your glass!

YOU'LL GET NO ARGUMENT FROM ME THERE:p NOPE! NONE @ ALL
NICE THREAD THOUGH. good to hear from you candy.
peace all. dawg,:cool:

[Jade Warrior]

Have you tried taking Milk Thistle for your liver? It won't cure your chirosis but it will help protect your remaining liver cells tand help them to function in a more efficient manner.



I never use` alcohol preps ,Maybe thats why I got so many abcesses and I also got Hep B & C,but I am a very responsible junky and will never ever share needles with someone.If they insist I simply tell them the truth"You were an inch close of catching Hep B & C. Then I tell them to be` more careful cuz most junkies won't bother saying a word.It's true that is how I got it on my 19th Birthday.What a great present!! Now Chirosis of the Liver has invaded my liver and I have 1-3 years left to live with only 40 % of my liver left,and it is not repairable.It is totally hard and grey.My bad!

[Jade Warrior]

I use the disposable bathroom cups, a new one each session. Do you think thats cool?


Maybe, it depends on the bug! What kind of bug do you think it was?

Just playing around with you...No your gonna live and be fine!:)

I know there are some who just use in one specific place in there home, say a bedroom and keep a glass or some kind of cup to cook with and rinse with.
This is just not a good idea, especially if you share it with others.
But even if it is just you using that water, pour it down the drain and use clean water to cook with and clean water to rinse.
Yeah, I know it may be somewhat inconveinent but trust me! Leaving that water out is just a big old pool of nasty ickiness, especially when fungus is starting to form and your putting it into your veins. And not all of us use H we need to cook up.

If you have a needle exchange where you live they give out little vials of sterile water used for cooking up dope and for rinsing.

So Woo, I hope that after reading this you pour out that water and get new water for each shot.
I would hate to see you with some nasty abscess or some strange fungal infection.

[D-Stabilized]

I'm really surprised at the results of this poll. While I'm not a real neat person in other aspects of my life, I ALWAYS use alcohol before shooting - both on the injection site and the needle itself. I've never had a single antiseptic related problem. Come on, really - what are we talking about here - 2 or 3 additional seconds? Also, if I'm ever gonna reuse a rig, I fill it with alcohol and then rinse it with sterile saline solution. Also, hand-washing is a MUST.

Believe it or not, while in the hospital I've had nurses (who damn sure ought to know better) attempt to give me a shot without using ANY antiseptic procedures! No handwashing, gloves, or alcohol swabs. I let em know pretty quick what I thought of that.

D-Stabilized