Harm Reduction Missed Vein(Heroin)

[CircleThatA]

Hello all. Been some time since ive been out with the needle but my drunken self surely missed. Some quick questions.


I was in and registered( mediocre powdre heroin) and when I filled with blood my hands shook me out of place. Upon re entry I thought I was surely in but found it hard to tell as my rig was already filled w/blood and I shot. Ive missed before(usually with far more dangerous concoctions) but I was actually sober when this took place so my delirium hexed mind filled with anxiety.
Symptoms
Immediately the injection site swelled into a bubble.
Numbness in arms and chest, though not severe.
About two hours later the swelling went completely down but injection site is discoulored purple-ish and blue. Im guessing its just a bruise but concerns(as the cut is in question) such as If I may have collapsed vein or some other damage may have occured.
Basically the discoloration and pins and needles in arm and chest are what Im asking knowledge on.
Any advice appreciated.
Dont shoot up till ya get rid of the shakes.
Thanks kids.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

There are a lot of threads on here about how to tell if a missed shot needs medical attention (maybe try the search function, I'm just going to bed or I'd find them for you).

The one thing that concerns me is are you saying you are still experiencing numbness or pins and needles in your arm and chest?

Bruising is common with a missed shot. Apply hot compresses to the area (which will help decrease the chance of infection as well).

Check yourself regularly for signs of infection (also listed in many other threads, like: if it starts to swell again, feels hotter than the surrounding area, a red line or streaks start growing from it, you have a fever, etc)

Also for future reference, if you have blood in the syringe you should usually still be able to tell if it's in the vein because more blood will enter when you register, whereas if it is not in the vein a vacuum will enter (looking like an air bubble in the syringe), and/or the plunger will sometimes depress back down to the original level if you let go of it. So if the volume of liquid in the syringe increases when you register and there is no vacuum in the barrel, it should be in the vein (of course if the vein is damaged or collapses or you had badly punctured it you could still miss). You can also try to look for a darker red coming in the bottom of the barrel as a secondary measure.

 

[Mzral]

I have a few friends who will blindly shoot, and more often than not miss, because of blood in the syringe. Anytime that happens to me, I just make sure I'm under adequate lighting so I can see more blood flow into the syringe. Even when the barrel is completely filled with crimson blood, I can still see more blood shoot in, if I've registered properly.

Just the other day I registered nicely and when I pushed down on the plunger I noticed a bubble starting to form. I'm extremely careful when loosening up the tourniquet I use (I wrap a thin ipod chord around my arm and then step on the bottom end of the chord. Upon registering, I slowly lift my foot up to release the pressure from the tourniquet.) I'm always steady when holding the needle, so when that began to happen I immediately took it out of my arm, shook it out, and the bubble immediately disappeared. I found another vein and took care of it. I really hate when that happens, but at least I had no complications from it occurring.