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Weird IV swelling

G

Grumpy_Eel

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 15, 2008
Messages
79
Im really needing help with this, im not sure what it is.

On monday we were shooting dilaudids and everything went normal, and i shot my friend tiffany on the outside of the arm, with a fresh point. I even registered it twice, so i know i didnt miss. But now her arm has swelled up and its red, and its hurting her.

Is it infected, or did i hit a muscle or something? What should we do? We cant really go to the doctor unless we have to. I have some minocycline antibiotics i could fill, would that help? Any help is greatly appreciated. Were really scared.
 
That's not enough information. Post a picture or more information, or there really isn't much we can do. Look at the other 100 IV-scare threads in the past couple of days - you'll get the same response here.
 
Put a warm rag on it every other hour. Keep any eye on it for the next few days. If it doesnt get better, take her to the ER immediately. Chances are its just inflamed from being pierced.


DO NOT give her any antibiotics. First of all, you dont know if shes allergic to them, and second, you are supposed to take those in a regimented fashion, meaning you have to take a full cycle of them for them to be effective. Giving those to may do more harm than good, but even if it doesnt harm her, it wont do any good.
 
You can use the antibiotics, but I wouldn't do so unless you KNOW you absolutely can get more of them. Doing a half-course of antibiotics can actually makes things worse in the long run. It sounds like it could be a knicked artery (which may or may not heal on its own), a missed shot (which again, may or may not heal on its own) with the main problem being that it's possible to become infected which turns it into an abcess. It also could be cellulitis, but that's probably not as common (most of it occurs in a medical setting, e.g hospitals and nursing homes).

An ideal antibiotic for something like this would be clindamycin, which is effective again aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. It's also used to treat MRSA, as well as staph., so it targets two likely microbes in her arm. You can get it for reasons other than a missed shot, but it's not guaranteed. Any antibiotic is better than anything, so go to the Dr.'s office faking a cough or some illness (don't fake the flu, which will likely get you Tamiflu or acyclovir, which are anti-virals and obviously are the wrong things to treat a bacterial infection), such as bronchitis. This should yield you a good quantity of an antibiotic. You could also claim to be allergic to penicillin so you get something in another class (i.e. more likely clindamycin). Even ciprofloxacin is pretty good for something like this.

Even if it turns out not to be infected, at least you're taking a good precaution. Most antibiotics are pretty cheap even without insurance (though the doc visit isn't as cheap), so it's not a big deal. Good luck and hopefully I was a bit helpful. I really hope it's not infected, that's not fun.
 
nleksan said:
You can use the antibiotics, but I wouldn't do so unless you KNOW you absolutely can get more of them. Doing a half-course of antibiotics can actually makes things worse in the long run. It sounds like it could be a knicked artery (which may or may not heal on its own), a missed shot (which again, may or may not heal on its own) with the main problem being that it's possible to become infected which turns it into an abcess. It also could be cellulitis, but that's probably not as common (most of it occurs in a medical setting, e.g hospitals and nursing homes).

An ideal antibiotic for something like this would be clindamycin, which is effective again aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. It's also used to treat MRSA, as well as staph., so it targets two likely microbes in her arm. You can get it for reasons other than a missed shot, but it's not guaranteed. Any antibiotic is better than anything, so go to the Dr.'s office faking a cough or some illness (don't fake the flu, which will likely get you Tamiflu or acyclovir, which are anti-virals and obviously are the wrong things to treat a bacterial infection), such as bronchitis. This should yield you a good quantity of an antibiotic. You could also claim to be allergic to penicillin so you get something in another class (i.e. more likely clindamycin). Even ciprofloxacin is pretty good for something like this.

Even if it turns out not to be infected, at least you're taking a good precaution. Most antibiotics are pretty cheap even without insurance (though the doc visit isn't as cheap), so it's not a big deal. Good luck and hopefully I was a bit helpful. I really hope it's not infected, that's not fun.
Click to expand...

Thats all good advice and everything, but i would give it a few days before doing so. Chances are its just inflamation. This happens to me a lot and goes away in a couple days on its own. So for now, just keep an eye on it, and if it doesnt go away within say...a week, then do as described in the quotes above, as that is very good advice.

Except for taking antibiotics which were not prescribed to you. That can be very dangerous, especially if you dont finish the whole cycle. Please try not to do that.
 
I have a question: Why would you shoot up your friend in the first place? Do you really want to be responsible for something like this?

I hope you didn't shoot her up because she didn't know how, as is, you introduced her to it.
 
Its better than having someone with no experience do it on their own for the first time. I get what you are saying and agree to an extent, but I rather hit a friend that doesnt know how than to have him stab away at himself aimlessly. It may be better to show them without actually doing it for them, that way they can see but still have to do it on their own. Or have them watch you do it to yourself.

Doesnt matter to me.
 
Grumpy_Eel said:
Im really needing help with this, im not sure what it is.

On monday we were shooting dilaudids and everything went normal, and i shot my friend tiffany on the outside of the arm, with a fresh point. I even registered it twice, so i know i didnt miss. But now her arm has swelled up and its red, and its hurting her.

Is it infected, or did i hit a muscle or something? What should we do? We cant really go to the doctor unless we have to. I have some minocycline antibiotics i could fill, would that help? Any help is greatly appreciated. Were really scared.
Click to expand...

Sorry, Grumpy, time to bite the bullet and go to the ER. What you are describing sounds like an infection. Not sure if you were shooting IV Dilaudid or cooked it up from pill form- but minimal, localized swelling at injection site is okay, I mean minimal, but what you are describing sounds like either phlebitis (inflammation of vein), maybe you missed the vein after all and have caused a tissue infection.
You could cause an infection of the blood, which could lead to sepsis or total systemic circulating bacterial infection which is absolutely life threatening. I'm not saying this is what is happening, just guessing from your description...
When you say "register" do you mean you pulled back on the plunger to check for blood return to verify you were in the vein, or were you popping?
 
Thank you for all the advice. The antibiotics are minocycline, and i dont think those would help much so im gonna hold off on that. Were keeping a hot compress on it and watching it for now. Shes trying to send me a picture and ill post it when i get it.

bow-viper1: Shes been using much longer then i have, she just cant really hit herself. And i don't like watching someone stab themselves a dozen times needlessly.
 
Hey!Grumpy Eel! Don't ever put a hot compress on an infection!! All you are doing is spreading the infection, ice it to slow spreading.
Be a friend and get her treatment.
 
I registerd by sticking the needle in the vein, drawing back a smidge of blood, and the pushed it in
 
You were definitely in the vein then, unless when you registered you dislodged the needle- it happens. Or maybe your shit wasn't cooked right?
 
sonnyluv said:
Hey!Grumpy Eel! Don't ever put a hot compress on an infection!! All you are doing is spreading the infection, ice it to slow spreading.
Be a friend and get her treatment.
Click to expand...

Thats not true. You want to put a hot compress on an abscess.
 
^ the infection you are most likely to get from IVing is an abscess, so if tis an infection like you say, then its probably an abscess. either way, it helps a lot ot put a warm compress on it. It probably isnt an abscess though. Its too early to tell. Give it a few more days, see how it looks, if it doesnt get better, go to the ER and have them check it out. For now, keep putting a warm compress on it.
 
sixpartseven, I respect that you are moderator and thee service that you perform here but your advice is unsound and dangerous. I'm not saying anybody should freak out and call 911 but harm reduction doesn't mean wait until she's got a fever and HAS an abscess.
Heat will cause vasodilation- i.e. spread the bacteria wherever it may be in this girl's upper extremity.
And BTW, the use of warm compress with an abscess is not a given. It may limit the depth of purulent collection but depending on the location and source of infection can cause more damage.
 
^ youre right. I have no idea what Im talking about :|

Look anywhere on this site. General consensus is to put a warm compress on it. And I did not say anywhere in any of my posts to wait for a fever. I said give it a couple days, if it doesnt go away, go to the ER. If its not an abscess and its just minor inflammation, it will be gone in 2 days tops. If its not, its an infection.
 
Warm compress will help alleviate pain from swelling- which is why everyone recomends doing it, but since when does general consesus constitute soound medical advice?

I did not mean to imply you don'tknow what you are talking about-my apologies if you thought that. I just don't understand your rationale.

If her arm is already swollen, red she has an infection. Treat it early and she's home free. Its already been a couple of days.
Let me ask you this- in your experience- do swollen red limbs x4 days usually heal themselves without treatment?
 
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