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Air bubbles when registering?

I

iseeunicorns

Greenlighter
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Messages
14
Location
NW England
New to Bluelight so wasn't quite sure where to post this!
So I am an IV heroin user and often have trouble getting a vein as I have none that are visible but after a lot of practice I have learnt where many of them are. Today whilst trying to shoot in the crook of my elbow I drew back and seemed to have registered, however as well as the blood entering the syringe so did some sort of air bubbles. I have used this vein before and the needle was definitely in.
I'm just unsure as to why some sort of bubbles entered the syringe as well as the blood, could it be due to a damaged vein?
sorry if this question has been asked before, did a quick search but couldn't find anything.
 
Could've been you were in an artery... You don't want to inject into an artery
 
I would think its much more likely that its a broken syringe than air in your veins. I have never heard of air in blood stream and sounds impossible or highly improbable unless you have the bends from diveing or something. As far as i know you should never have air in your bloodstream, espically in amounts you could draw some out in. That could spell death.

A single bubble going in when whether an IV line or when IVing is a totally different story and I doubt you would ever be able to draw it out. I have been told in the hospital that a small amount of air going in your vein through an IV line is nothing to be concerned about and won't hurt you. I was amazed at the size bubbles that go in you through IV lines sometimes. But that is such a small amount you would never be able draw out air I would imagine.

Probably where the needle and plastic of the syringe meet not being completely sealed, therefore giving the impression of air coming out of your vein.
 
Again your blood carries oxygen through arteries.... If it was lighter color blood that was frothy (air bubbles) then you were in an artery not a vein that takes blood to the extremities before going back to the heart like a vein does.
 
Ok, two things about the air bubble.

First, it's possible there was virtually no air at all. You can pull back on the syringe and produce a mild vacuume, it might look like air, but once the blood fills the syringe it should disappear.
Second, and by far the most likely, it's entirely possible there was a very small bubble in the syringe, once you pull back though, the negative pressure could expand the bubble much like with the vacuume I mentioned above, the only difference is there IS some air there. Small bubbles get bigger or smaller based on the pressure. So say you have a syringe and the needle is entirely blocked, so the liquid inside can't go anywhere, and there are a couple tiny bubbles. Pulling back on the plunger will expand the bubbles and pushing in will make them smaller. This would explain how a bubble you might not have initially seen might appear to have come into existence from pulling back in the plunger.

But, the important part is, there's no way the air came from within your blood stream. There is oxygen in your blood of course, but it's dissolved in your blood and won't show up in the needle in the way you describe, that's not possible. Most oxygen in your blood is in arterial blood as above posters mentioned. But if you'd hit an artery I think you'd have noticed. The pressure is usually enough to push back on the needle without you doing anything, the bloods a different color, it takes a lot longer to stop bleeding, and it usually hurts a lot more. I don't think it's likely you hit an artery.

But the REALLY important part is, it's nothing worth being worried about. It takes a LOT of air injected to do you any harm, more than you could fit in the syringe. I've been shooting heroin for years, done it thousands of times. I do bother to get rid of air bubbles cause they make it more likely the needle will get blocked once you register and get blood in the syringe, blood and oxygen equals clotting. So it's worth getting rid of before you start.

But even a large air bubble injected won't do you any harm. You're more likely to be at risk of clots from trying to start over after registering cause you want to get the air out increasing the time your blood is exposed to air. Once you register, go for it, don't worry about bubbles. I never did and I'm still here. It takes a lot of air to do you any harm.
 
Well you shouldn't be shooting into an artery, bubble or no bubble. But like I said, I find it hard to believe the OP would have done that without realizing something was wrong.
 
After posting this I was thinking and thought i read somewhere about some sort of air bubbles entering the syringe if I was in an artery. It wasn't a vacuum that was created, it was more like the syringe went frothy? My only issue is that it was in a spot where I know there's a large vein (of course there could be an artery very close by) but I thought that arteries ran deeper than veins? (sorry, correct me if I am wrong)
I never continued to shoot after this as I panicked, which I am glad of now as hitting an artery is no fun at all (caught one many months ago, hopefully never ever again as it was probably the most intense shock of pain I have ever had in my my life).

Is it right that the blood entering the syringe can be frothy if in an artery? Of course it could have just been the seal as Wrongguy suggested but this would be helpful to know in the future anyway.
Cheers for all your replies, had myself panicking there was something wrong with me ��
 
It could still look frothy with my theory. Rest assured there’s nothing wrong with you, or rather if there is, there’s not reason to think it based on this.
 
That just happened to me. I was like wtf I've been doing this for years and use that vein daily . Smh and never have I registered air bubbles with spurts of blood . I was like wtf is going on here! Kinda scary really.
 
MasterRabbit420 said:
Mine was straight air bubbles I registered it 4 times to make sure I wasn't tripping
Click to expand...

What I'd be curious about, is to try that same syringe and draw up some water out of a cup.

It's possible there's a defect or damage in the syringe or needle somewhere letting air in from outside your body, but making it look like the bubbles are originating from inside your body.

That's the only thing I can think of beyond the stuff I said on this thread 4 years ago.

Your body has natural filters like your lungs, so you shouldn't be able to draw any air bubbles out.
 
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