Why do larger gauge needles work better for me?

[firahs75]

I am a male with small veins that don't really pop out. Up to this point (no pun intended), I have always used 30 or 31 gauge needles, which many times (due to my girly veins) ends up being an exercise in frustration with me digging and digging and many times slipping out of the vein when I do hit it.

Now, due to lack of availability of smaller needles, I have been forced to use 26 gauge needles. So, imagine my surprise to find that I have a much easier time with the 26 gauges. So far, I always hit on the first poke (usually within 10 seconds) and never slip out.

Can someone please enlighten me as to why is it easier for me with the larger size? This seems completely counterintuitive and most people recommend 30 or 31; I usually have a very hard time with the 30 and 31, though. Thanks!

 

[RedRum OG]

Bigger is easier to hit, smaller is. Just healthier, does less damage etc

 

['medicine cabinet']

yea its bigger so it draws faster, plus with bigger ones when you go to register or "flash" if you arent in it will actually pull back on the plunger, the little 30ga ones dont have that same suction so its easy to think youre on bc any flash is going to be really small. last time i pinned anything was only a few weeks ago but before that it had been like 3 years, all they had were 30 and 31 so i got the 30s and man it left a huuuge bruise on the site. dont know why the biger ones cause les bruising...wish i could have gotten 28

 

[neversickanymore]

You may experience positive results in the beginning but those twenty six gauge needles are going to tear your veins up quick. You may want to consider finding an alternate way to get your normal gauge needles. The quality of some of the insulin syringes has decreased greatly over a few years now. I would try and get some of the higher end insulins as it really does make a huge difference. Yeah it may be an extra thirty dollars per box but its worth every penny IMO.

 

[paranoid android]

^ This exactly. My ex used to use no smaller then 28 gauge needles and she often used 26 gauge ones or even bigger. She ended up tracking up her arms after a year of use worse then i have seen outside of IV coke heads and after only shooting up for about 3 months she got a abscess and a blown out vein in that time. In the same span of time i didn't even get a track mark because i always used 30 gauge short tips. I always use short tips as i find it way easier to hit with those. She was completely unable to register using my syringes. I ended up using a big fucking gauge needle that looked like a 22 gauge or whatever size they use for drawing blood she had once as it was the only one that had not been used that we had left. It still gives me the willies thinking about it. Not only did it hurt like a cunt going in but it bruised my arm so bad that i couldn't shoot into it for about 2 weeks after.

Also don't skimp on syringes and don't reuse them. Get the BD brand ones as they are the best by far. I had some other brand one time that someone gave me and the syringes where fucked up like the barrel didn't fit right with the plunger almost. I used 2 of them and gave the other 8 away.

 

[firahs75]

Thanks for the info everybody. I still don't understand why it is easier to slip out of a vein with a smaller needle. It seems like to opposite would be true. Luckily my skin is pretty tan, so marks and bruises don't show up very easily on my skin, but I will try to get 28 gauge for the future.

 

[RTrain]

Thats kinda odd because in the medical field its considered much easier to hit someone with a smaller gauge. Of course that is dealing with gauges between 14 and 22. I guess the issue is when you get to such small gauges that the needle is too flimsy and anything over a 1/2" in length is liable to break if you are digging deep cause you are a tough stick. So you benefit from the larger gauges being sturdier more than anything, I suppose. But I wouldn't make a lengthy practice of sticking yourself over and over again with a 26 g when you already have tough veins to hit. Try some things to work the veins to the surface better, obviously a tourniquet, some light exercise shortly before hand or a hot shower. Anything that gets your body temp up causes your body to shunt blood towards the outer surface of the skin and thus your shallow veins will be larger. You can also invest in special lights that you can shine and reveal the veins, but that isn't going to help if you already know where they are just can't hit them.

 

[firahs75]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

Use smaller needles. For your own good.