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Harm Reduction injection site redness, numbness and swelling..

infantannihilator

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Messages
899
Location
Canada
I missed a hit last night using a substance that I guess I did not dilute enough (because it burns). Anyway, I didn't feel like I missed until about 5 mins later when I noticed my arm was numb and I had a big red swelling at the injection site, thought I may have collapsed a vein yikes. I actually did it a second time, but much smaller, similar thing happened.

The redness and the numbness went away, but the swelling itself is still there. Its not hard, its actually soft. Im going to keep an eye on it obviously, but does this sound familiar to anyone? I think its the numbness that goes with the redness, and the remaining soft lump thats throwing me for a loop. Its a little tender, but not too bad

'preciate any insight
 
What was the substance you ivd?

A hot compress is always good when you miss a shot to help absorb some of the "miss".

Keep an eye on iT, if it's growing hot or painful prolly should see a doc.
 
Put a warm press on it... Do it in intervals... This will help the blood flow reduce the inflammation. Also, an aspirin or two will help to thin your blood during the procedure.

Best wishes,

B.B.
 
Well dont really have that and for some reason this place I live doesnt seem to have hot water anymore.. good suggestions, though Im not really vasoconstricted anyway its just this lump

My arm feels kind of numb again. Trying to brush it off
 
If you have redness and its hot to the touch, its most likely the start of a infection called cellulitus and can be dangerous. draw a circle around the red part if it grows seek doctor care for antibiotics.
 
Dont shoot up again near the infection sight. You can end up spreading the infection into your blood, and then into your heart causing endocarditis. One of my cousins died from endocarditis. Also, soak it or use a heat wrap from a drug store. If you can soak it, get some epson salts, which will help it open and drain hopefully. Dont try and open it up by cutting or squeezing it, since that also can cause it to become a blood infection. If ypu start to feel feverish or have chills, go to the ER because your infection has gotten extremely bad.
I hope it gets better soon!
 
If you have redness and its hot to the touch, its most likely the start of a infection called cellulitus and can be dangerous. draw a circle around the red part if it grows seek doctor care for antibiotics.

Drawing a circle around it...nice tip there. OP even if you don't have hot water you can still dissolve some epsom salts in cool water. That helps a lot in that it brings everything to the surface and reduces swelling/redness. It also helps with muscle soreness.
Also if you have a heating pad that's able to get moist you could just dampen a rag, lay that over the site and put the heating pad on top of the rag on the lowest setting.
With any compress you only want to leave it on for 15-20 min. 3 to 4 times a day. If necessary you could do it every couple hours and be ok.
With the numbness it's possible that you hit a nerve. Avoid using the same site/area while it's healing and if it gets any worse then seek help from a medical professional.
Hope it gets better :)
 
Thanks for the responses guys. For the record what I injected was mephenmetrazine, and to my knowledge, I'm probably the first person to do so (slightly reckless perhaps.. I'll be writing a trip report anyway). What makes this a little difficult for me is the fact that I have very fair skin (almost always have redness, lol) and I bruise very easily. Even the smoothest of hits for me usually leaves a little blotch unless I really hold down after the injection, which as Im sure you all know is sometimes way out of our minds once the drugs are coursing through.

I managed to get some sleep, and it doesn't appear to have changed. There is a slight hint that its going to bruise, but other than that its just a wide softish lump. Its actually the other arm that I missed a little on as well (same reaction) but its actually bruised. Both sites are somewhat tender to firm pressure, but nothing out of the ordinary for me in terms of post stim injection pains - even areas that went smooth feel a similar way. I'm a lot calmer about it now, but I spent a long while worrying about it due to the come down effects I suppose, you know the odd ticks etc. I felt every once in a while a sharp pain like the substance was still working its way through. When it initially swelled I hadn't noticed because I was high out of my mind, but then the pressure was so much that I thought I collapsed my cephalic vein.. and it felt collapsed too if that makes any sense. Total 180 in mood.

Learned my lesson, yet the journey isn't over yet, and now I have to worry about a likely big bruise on my forearm *facepalm*
 
Glad you're feeling better. Helpful tip for bruising; Get some vitamin E gel caps, poke a couple holes into the cap so you can squeeze the syrup out and rub that directly on the skin over/around the bruising.
 
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