zoom said:
A few years ago, you used to see doctors using the same needles with different patients. Now, we're so paranoid we won't even use the same needle on ourselves?
The needle passed through your skin, which should be clean after you used alcohol on it, and into your own tissue. How is it no longer sterile? Why would it not be safe to immediately do another injection with the same needle? You see doctors do it, so it can't be that bad.
The same needle with different patients was only seen with autoclavable (steam sterilizable) re-usable needles. The only exception was for US army malaria shots during wartime, which were administered into the delt using a multi-use gun, after which the patients were practically overdosed on cheap sulfa drug antibiotics (at the time, the potential to spread viral illness was poorly understood in the medical community, relative to what we know today).
Regarding using the same needle in both sites, theoretically it can be done. Notice I said THEORETICALLY. If you perfectly disinfect your skin (alcohol doesn't do this in the amount of time you swab yourself with it; using a surgical iodine-based sterilant would be far better, but it stains the skin...), and have perfectly aseptic technique with the needle, you should be fine.
HOWEVER, almost none of us perfectly disinfect our skin when we shoot.
It's like that cereal for kids, with marshmallow bits in it... Lucky Charms, I think... sure, there are lots of regular ceral bits in there and only a few marshmallows. Reach in without looking, and take a handful. Let's consider the chance of getting one or more marshmallows as being equivalent to the chance that we haven't perfectly disinfected our skin. Pretty much EVERY handful will have one or more marshmallows. Take one marshmallow out of every handful that draws one or more, and put it in your hand as you draw another handful.
Let's consider the chance of getting two marshmallows (including the one from before) represents a 30% chance of infection. Let's say three marshmallows means a 50% chance of infection, four or more is an 80% chance of infection, and five or more is 97%+.
Each time you take a handful, and it contains one or more marshmallows, take one marshmallow and add it to your next handful. Adds up kinda quick, doesn't it?
For example, something like this:
(HF = handful)
HF1 = 1 marshmallow (let’s say 10%)
HF 2 = 1 marshmallow + 1 from before = 2 marshmallows (30%)
HF 3 = 1 marshmallow + 2 from HF2 = 3 (50%)
HF 4 = 1 marshmallow + 3 from HF3 = 4 (80%)
And so on, and so forth.
Now, instead of talking handfuls and marshmallows, replace this with injections and microbial population. Sure, there's only 30% chance you get an infection from 2 shots without changing... but why not just change the pin and reduce it back to 10% or so (or likely less!).
Hope someone cares enough to read this whole thing... hate to think I wasted my time!
-M
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