Safer Injecting

Needle Exchange ServiceWest Kent

This pack contains everything you need for injecting oil or water based ste-roids. If you are injecting growth hormone, you may also require sterile water (not included).

This pack provides you with clean injecting equipment it does not provide a guide on how to inject; expert advice should always be sought.

STEROIDS

For free, confidential help and advice:Call: 08442 250 652Visit: www.westkentrecovery.org.uk

Never inject steroids into a vein or artery (you may die if you do). Always pull back the plunger a little before you inject to check that there is no blood in the barrel.

Always use new and sterile injecting equipment. Never share any equipment including vials or ampoules.

Never allow anyone to use/borrow any of your equipment. It may put both of you at risk of Blood Borne Virus (e.g. Hep C) transmission.

Needles that go into vials or ampoules to “draw up” need to be clean and must be discarded after use.

Always make the process as sterile as possible to help reduce the risk of infection. Wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol gel to cleanse.

Always dispose of your needles in the bin provided and return them to your local needle exchange.

Important information before you start:

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needles are the preferred choice for injecting into the muscle of the buttock or thigh (oil or water based steroids).

needles can be used for “drawing up” from the ampoule/vial or injecting into a muscle such as the buttock or thigh (oil or water based steroids).

Using the equipment provided:

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NEEDLES GREEN

BLUE

BRING IT BACKAlways put used needles and equipment into a sharps container and return it to your local service. Returning them can help keep the service open.

Choose your site carefully (such as the thigh, deltoid or buttock) and rotate or change your sites regularly.

Use the alcohol swab to clean the skin before injecting. These swabs can also be used to clean the rubber nipple on top of the vial. Let the injection site dry before injecting.

Use a green needle for drawing up, but use a fresh blue or green needle for injecting into the muscle – the first needle is likely to have been blunted by piercing the top of the vial or scraping against the glass ampoule, and this then causes further trauma to the skin.

If you are injecting a large quantity, use two or more sites. No more than 2mls should be injected into any muscle at any one time.

Do not insert the needle into the injection site right up to the syringe barrel tip as this will make it extremely difficult to remove if the needle accidentally snaps off whilst injecting.

Always remember to massage the area after the injection to disperse the drug.

Injecting into a muscle:

(Needles will become blunt when piercing the rubber nipple/cap or scrapping against the glass ampoule. This can cause pain and will make piercing the skin difficult.)

DO NOT USE THE SAME NEEDLE FOR INJECTING

Use 1 GREEN needle for drawing up.

Then use a fresh BLUE or GREEN needle for injecting into the muscle.

Always remember to massage the area after injection.

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to inject here 1st choice*

to inject here outer mid thighto inject here deltoid

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2 NEEDLES ARE NEEDED FOR EACH INJECTIONINJECTING SAFELY

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THE VIAL / AMPOULEVials with rubber caps will have bacteria on them. Swab the rubber cap with a new alcohol swap to reduce contamination of the needle and the steroid inside. Wait 30 seconds for the alcohol to evaporate before piercing it with the needle you are using for the draw up. Never refill vials – they are hard to sterilise and refilling puts you at greater risk of bacterial infections.

VIRAL INFECTIONSWhere anabolic steroids are injected and syringes shared, there is a risk of infection with Hepatitis B, C and HIV. These can be transmitted through sharing equipment that could be contaminated. Hepatitis C and HIV are a particular threat because people who are infected usually appear healthy and may not develop symptoms for years. From the moment they are infected, however, they carry the virus in their blood and can infect other people through sexual intercourse and sharing injecting equipment. Those continuing to inject can protect themselves by using clean equipment and not sharing it with anyone and practicing safer sex i.e. using condoms.

BACTERIAL INFECTIONSAbscesses will first appear as a reddish swelling which may feel hot to the touch. They can develop into a hard, pus-filled lump for which you will need to seek medical attention.Reduce your chances of abscesses by cleaning the site with an alcohol wipe.Infections are caused by the injection of foreign substances into your blood stream, for example dirt off a non-sterile needle or ampoule. The symptoms are the shakes, vomiting, sweating, severe headaches, fever and occasionally kidney pains.Septicaemia is blood poisoning, caused by bacteria in the blood stream. It is essential to seek medical attention immediately, as it could be fatal.

THE RISKS

SPOTTING A COUNTERFEIT

The packaging on fakes usually looks a lot like the original, but look at the expiry date and the batch number. If they look like they were all printed in the same process as the label, they are probably fakes.Be sure that the expiry date on the box matches the one on the product as well.Look for low quality labels; you should not be able to easily peel the label off of the ampoule or the bottle. Most steroids made by legitimate companies use labels with rounded corners.If you are checking a glass ampoule, be sure that if you have a few, they are filled consistently, and of the same colour.Be especially wary of multi-injection vials, these are easily obtained by counterfeiters and are not easily available as a legitimate drug.A final visual inspection of any products can identify bad fakes. If the caps of vials are loose, or rubber seals are perished, then the substances should be discarded.

For extensive information and resources regarding use of steroid & image enhancing drugs, please visit www.siedsinfo.co.uk

CRI provides Drug & Alcohol Services in the UK

• Needle Exchange• Safer Injecting Advice• Blood Borne Virus testing

& vaccination• Naloxone

• Advice & Information on Drugs & Alcohol

• Access to substitute prescribing• Group work• Detox & Rehab• Alcohol treatment

Supplied by Frontier Medical Group GP0047_C58_01

MAIDSTONEService site:

CRI, Mill House, Mill Street Maidstone, Kent ME15 6XH Tel: 01622 690944 Fax: 01622 672482 Pharmacies:

Boots Pharmacy 52 College Road Maidstone Kent ME1 5SA Lloyds Pharmacy 11 Parkwood Parade Maidstone Kent ME15 9HL Lloyds Pharmacy 58-60 Tonbridge Road Maidstone Kent ME16 8SE Paydens Ltd 12 Martin Square Larkfield Kent ME20 6QJ Lloyds Pharmacy 42 High Street Borough Green Kent TN15 8BJ

GRAVESENDService site:

CRI, 8 – 9 Berkley Crescent Gravesend, Kent DA12 2AH Tel: 01474 566659 Fax: 01474 564496 Pharmacies:

Brent Pharmacy 15 The Brent Dartford Kent DA1 1YD Boots Pharmacy 46-52 High Street Dartford Kent DA1 1DE Echo Pharmacy Windsor Road Gravesend Kent DA12 5HY Nicholson & Keep 1 Valley Drive Gravesend Kent DA11 0DG

TONBRIDGEService Site:

CRI, First Floor, 133 High Street Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1DH Tel: 01732 367380 Fax: 01732 368563 Pharmacies:

Butt & Hobbs Ltd 25 Quarry Hill Tonbridge Kent TN9 2RN Day Lewis Ltd 42 Dartford Road Sevenoaks Kent TN13 3TQ Imperial Pharmacy 4 The Pantiles Tunbridge Wells Kent TN2 5TN

CRI Services & Needle Exchange Pharmacies in the area: