• Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Harm Reduction Broke a needle tip of in my arm

Status
Not open for further replies.

thugpassion

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 27, 2005
Messages
1,841
Thats right I broke the tip of 29 guage needle off in my arm.. ..cheap ass monoject brand syringes. Anyways, I went to the ER and they said it was located in a superfucial spot and there was nothing they wanted to do in the emergency room, as far as cutting it out. So they refered me to see an otheropidic guy. What do yous guys think, since its in such a superficial spot (not in any veins, nerves, etc.) would you just leave it since I cant even feel it, or have to have it cut out?
 
Thats right I broke the tip of 29 guage needle off in my arm.. ..cheap ass monoject brand syringes. Anyways, I went to the ER and they said it was located in a superfucial spot and there was nothing they wanted to do in the emergency room, as far as cutting it out. So they refered me to see an otheropidic guy. What do yous guys think, since its in such a superficial spot (not in any veins, nerves, etc.) would you just leave it since I cant even feel it, or have to have it cut out?

I'd have it removed, as long as it didn't cost you like a lot of money or anything. Do you have health insurance? (You have probably already been asked this....)

Anyways I guess it's up to you, but I think it's important that you have it removed. If you ever have to have an MRI, you will have to have it removed before hand.

Finally, I am sorry that this happened to you.
 
Damn, I've always worried about one falling off in a vein, and getting shot through my heart.

I would get it removed, I know it's not hr but you might be able to cut it out yourself if its like a splinter, but how deep is it?
 
i agree.. i would get it removed. for the MRI thing and also if you ever need to fly anywhere, security is a bitch as it is, imagine with something in you constantly making the metal detector go off lol.
 
i agree.. i would get it removed. for the MRI thing and also if you ever need to fly anywhere, security is a bitch as it is, imagine with something in you constantly making the metal detector go off lol.

I'm not sure how strong and MRI is, however, imagine it switches on and pulls that through your body, damn...
 
Get it removed! One of my friends dad got a little piece of metal in the leg, but it was, like yours, superficial and not in a vein. It slowly cut through the tissue and one day it entered a vein and fucked up the leg, so now he only has one. I wouldn't risk anything, even though it is of course very unlikely. How large a piece is it? And how deep?
 
hard to imagine a needle which is very malleable stainless steel breaking . one can bend them back on themselves several times before they work harden and finally break.
I don't buy it !
 
hard to imagine a needle which is very malleable stainless steel breaking . one can bend them back on themselves several times before they work harden and finally break.
I don't buy it !

It's happened to several people on Bluelight. There is even a post in Case Studies about a user who had two needles lodged in themselves (pictures included).
 
Damn, I've always worried about one falling off in a vein, and getting shot through my heart.

I would get it removed, I know it's not hr but you might be able to cut it out yourself if its like a splinter, but how deep is it?

The blood flow in veins is turbulent. Wouldn't the sharp metal part end up into some tissue before reaching the heart?
 
I would get it removed.

I had a piece of glass get stuck in my hand from a broken bottle and over the course of a year, the shard migrated over an inch and was worn completely smooth. I still feel the effects in my hand. No telling where that piece could go.
 
When it happened they did take x rays and you could see it under the surface in the crook of my arm(its a 29 guage needle like a little less than 1/2 an inch long), they refered me to see an orthopidist. So I guess its gonna be their best judgment. This happened with monoject brand syriges, granted they had been used a few times before but this never happened in almost 10 years using brands like BD.
 
When it happened they did take x rays and you could see it under the surface in the crook of my arm(its a 29 guage needle like a little less than 1/2 an inch long), they refered me to see an orthopidist. So I guess its gonna be their best judgment. This happened with monoject brand syriges, granted they had been used a few times before but this never happened in almost 10 years using brands like BD.

No it's not 'their best judgment'. It's up to you whether you see another doctor if you don't agree, don't be a fool.
 
The blood flow in veins is turbulent. Wouldn't the sharp metal part end up into some tissue before reaching the heart?

Almost certainly, it would be very hard for the needle to make the turns, and stay in the dead center of the stream, I didn't say my fear had to be logical, just something that I'm kinda illogically paranoid of.
 
Just for my own curiosity, was this the first use of the needle or a re-use?

And I'd advise to have it removed, if for nothing than peace of mind. As others have said, things can migrate and get progressively worse over time.
 
Ya, you don't want any metal in you just in case you have to get (or when) an MRI. It's a giant magnet, and will rip any metal clean out of you without hesitation. It would be not unlike getting shot by a rail gun. I must emphasize that you really have no clue what so ever, when you might randomly end up in the hospital, drugs or no drugs. I'd DEFINITELY get that taken care of. Some people actually have to wear a special metal bracelet saying that there is indeed metal in their body, just in case something like what I'm talking about happens. Perhaps you should use a 28 or 27g now.
 
I believe he had already used it at least once or twice based on what he said here, but I might be wrong.

Ah I see... When I read though that the first time I was thinking it meant he had used the brand a couple of times before, but now re-reading it I think you're correct!
 
In any case even if you use a needle a few times (probably in this case more than that), you would have to really do something drastic to cause a needle break. I can hardly imagine one breaking from normal IV practices which put little stress on the needle. You can't totally blame the syringe, OP was doing something wrong aside from reusing multiple times.
 
That's exactly what I thought when I read his post. He DID say the tip though, whether that matters or not. In any case it wasn't his question.
 
In any case even if you use a needle a few times (probably in this case more than that), you would have to really do something drastic to cause a needle break. I can hardly imagine one breaking from normal IV practices which put little stress on the needle. You can't totally blame the syringe, OP was doing something wrong aside from reusing multiple times.

It's fairly rare, but it does happen even in clinical settings. I've heard of it happening once in a clinic that I volunteered at years ago with a tetanus vaccination.

Most of the time that you hear about this though it is someone self injecting, steroids, heroin, insulin, etc. Probably just inexperience or an odd angle, not to mention the extra stresses in situations where the needle (and vein) has been re-used.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top