Safer Injecting and alternatives to injecting
If you take drugs by injecting them, you are more vulnerable to injuries, infections and blood borne viruses. It’s also easier to overdose from an injection.
Using a needle can cause abscesses, ulcers and damage to your veins. Using a contaminated needle can also pass on viruses like hepatitis and HIV.
If you notice an injection site that is bleeding, changing colour, weeping, or is swollen or painful for more than a few days, please speak to a doctor or nurse as soon as you can.
Safer Injecting Advice for Opiates
- Wash hands & injection siteAlways use new equipmentNever share any equipment including spoons, filters and water
- Work from a clean surface to prepare your hit
- Ensure you are using the right needle in the right place
- Rotate your injection sites
- ALWAYS INJECT TOWARDS YOUR HEART (up the way)
- Do NOT inject if you can feel a pulse
- Dispose of equipment in sharps bins and return to your IEP service
There are a number of useful short films that cover all sorts of things to do with safer drug use, produced by Harm Reduction Works that can be found on their You Tube channel.
Alternatives to injecting such as smoking, snorting or taking drugs ‘Up yer bum’ can be safer than injecting. Talk to the harm reduction team who can give you information and advice on this.
You can access the Up Yer Bum flyer and the Safer Injecting leaflet to find out about safer injecting sites and needle sizes here: