An air bubble trapped in a vein can cause it to become blocked. This condition is called air embolism. Under what circumstances can it occur, what danger does it pose to human life and health?

Air can penetrate into a vein only if it is punctured - a puncture. Accordingly, this can happen when performing such manipulations as intravenous administration of drugs using a syringe or dropper. Many patients during such procedures are afraid of air getting into the venous vessels and their concern is well founded. This is due to the fact that an air bubble blocks the lumen of the channel, thereby disrupting the process of blood microcirculation. That is, the development of embolism occurs. High risk severe complications and even death occurs when large arteries are blocked.

The composition is the same, it just changes the price. It contains progesterone and estradiol: 150 mg of algostone and estradiol enanthate, 10 mg. Perlutan begins to be released gradually, and soon in the first days. In the first few days he will release very large number estradiol. The levels will fluctuate wildly, with it releasing a lot of estradiol at first and then releasing very little. So you need to supplement it between injections with another type of estradiol.

Uh, but if it only releases over 8 days the amount of estradiol I need, then that just increases the frequency of injections, doesn't it? Moreover, it can lead to complications such as an increase in prolactin and even changes in the pituitary gland. For some younger girls, this action may be enough to keep the dough low, releasing antiandrogens. “And what period should you take the exams?”

Possible consequences

It is believed that if air enters a vein, it will be fatal. Is this true? Yes, this is quite possible, but only if it penetrates a large volume - at least 20 cubes. This cannot happen unintentionally when a drug is administered intravenously. Even if there were air bubbles in the syringe with the drug, the amount was not enough to cause life-threatening consequences. Small plugs dissolve quite quickly under blood pressure and the process of its circulation is immediately restored.

Always one day before next use. If applied soon after this, it is obvious that it will give very high level estradiol as it releases more hormones in the first few days of use. You know you won't have these levels until next injection? It is therefore best to take the test before using the next injection, so there is no risk of overestimating the serum estradiol value, which does not reflect what happens over the course of a whole month, but over a few days.

Side effects such as water retention and sometimes nausea are common during the first few uses. Perlutan booklet. Using it on yourself makes you nervous the first few times, so it's important to be confident in what you're doing and know how to do it correctly so it doesn't give you something wrong.

In case of development air embolism the risk of death is not high and the prognosis will be favorable, subject to timely treatment medical care.

Complications of the condition may include the following:

• paresis - temporary numbness of an area of ​​the body to which blood flow has become poor due to blockage of the supply vessel by an air bubble;
• formation of compaction and blue discoloration at the puncture site;
• dizziness;
• general malaise;
• short-term fainting.

Injection into a vein 20 cc. air can provoke oxygen starvation brain or heart muscle, which in turn will lead to the development of a heart attack or stroke.

But in general, this is not a seven-headed creature. Right place application and take all precautions. But it is recommended to look for someone with experience in injection injections to avoid serious inconvenience. Here short explanation how to do it. - First, make an antiseptic with alcohol. -Open the ampoule. Recommended application location: Picture below.

Aspirate the contents with the syringe, then remove all the air and then apply it to the previously marked area after the needle penetrates the buttock aspirate with the syringe to see if there is any blood. It is always recommended to alternate which buttock it belongs to.

In the absence of timely medical care, the risk of death of the victim increases. The risk of death increases if air enters a vein during a severe surgical intervention, in the process of complicated labor activity, as well as for serious wounds and injuries that are accompanied by damage to large blood vessels.

Recommended place of application. Drawing showing how to draw air from a syringe. Forget this idea, be that as it may, only in your butt that this needle will go in, the damage that may suffer from reuse syringes, more than the money that was saved. Additionally, because of this thickening, a reused needle does not penetrate the skin as easily as a new one, and this can cause pain, bleeding, and bruising. Anyway, the needles are meant to be used only once.

It depends on how long you go. But if it is small, its effectiveness will not be compromised. When you finish inserting the needle, quickly remove it and compress the injection site with a cotton swab. Don't massage the application site. This rare complication, but it can happen.

An air embolism can cause death when the body’s compensatory capabilities are insufficient, and medical assistance was provided untimely.

Air in a vein does not always lead to blockage. Bubbles can move through the bloodstream, penetrating smaller vessels and capillaries. At the same time, they either dissolve or block their lumen, which has practically no effect on general health person. Severe symptoms occur only when exposed to large volumes of air into large significant blood channels.

This usually happens when you are using muscles that are very shortened, or if you have rotated the needle many times as you push it into the application site. Remember, you can't mess around too much. Remember: Pelrutan must be applied to the muscle, the muscles will tell it, calm the hormone and gradually release. Perlutan is oily and cannot come into direct contact with blood. Either way, if you think you're going through a lot, get help.

Evidence-based medicine. It should be suspected in any patient with central venous catheter who suddenly develops unexplained hypoxemia or cardiocirculatory collapse. Air can enter the vein directly through the puncture needle while the catheter is in the central vein, by disconnecting or breaking the catheter, and during its exit through the subcutaneous route. However, smaller amounts may be fatal in severely ill patients with limited cardiopulmonary reserve.

Injections and droppers

During the injection process, there is a possibility of air bubbles entering thevein.

To avoid this, nurses shake out the contents of the syringe and release a little medicine before giving the injection. Thus, the accumulated air comes out along with the drug. This is done not only to avoid dangerous consequences, but also to reduce the pain of the injection itself. After all, when an air bubble penetrates a vein, it causes the patient a very discomfort, as well as the formation of a hematoma in the puncture area. When placing IVs, the likelihood that air will get into the vein is almost zero, since all bubbles are also released from the system.

Heart attack or heart attack?

The interaction of blood with air causes aggregation of platelets, red blood cells, and fat globules into air bubbles, contributing to pulmonary vascular obstruction, with a subsequent increase in vascular resistance, decreased pulmonary complacency and severe hypoxemia, and the accompanying hemodynamic instability associated with acute pulmonary hypertension.

Gas embolism may present with sudden shortness of breath, anxiety, dizziness, nausea, impending death, or chest pain. Neurological signs such as confusion, dizziness and loss of consciousness may occur immediately. These same findings may be secondary to cerebral hypoxia, hypoxemia, and systemic hemodynamic instability or ischemia by passage of air into the systemic arterial circulation, causing cerebral arterial embolism.

Conclusion

To prevent unwanted complications after injections, you should seek help only from specialized medical institutions, where manipulations are performed by qualified medical personnel. It is not recommended to carry out the procedure yourself or trust it to persons who do not have the necessary skills.

Conditions that decrease central venous pressure predispose to gas embolism, including tachycardia, hypovolemia, and high hair, as well as those that increase intrathoracic negative pressure, such as hyperventilation. Patients with suspected gas embolism should be immediately positioned in the left lateral incision and with the head down, thereby placing the right outflow ventricle in a position inferior to the right ventricular cavity, facilitating the migration of air to the higher part. Air aspiration of the right ventricle can be attempted if the catheter located, but there is no justification for passing another catheter just for this purpose.

The introduction of air into a vein can provoke an air embolism - blocking the flow of blood by an air bubble.

It is accompanied by symptoms such as dizziness, joint pain, weakness and tingling in the limbs, loss of consciousness, and in severe cases, paralysis. Air embolism may be death. If it occurs in the heart area, a heart attack occurs, if in the brain, a stroke occurs. If an embolism occurs in the lungs, it is accompanied by chest pain and difficulty breathing. This is probably why an injection into a vein with an empty syringe is a favorite detective plot in many books and TV series.

What happens if air enters a vein through an IV?

To reduce the size of the bubbles, everything must be placed in 100% oxygen. Important has the prevention of gas embolism. After removal, the entry port on the skin should be immediately closed. If possible, avoid central venous access in patients with tachycardia or restlessness; Patients with hypovolemia should be given previous hydration. Neurological manifestations of cerebral air embolism as a complication of central venous catheterization.

This newsletter may serve teaching aid to prepare auxiliary health agents who must learn to dare infusion in the context of one of the halls. In this case, the infusion will have to be changed too often. Infusion placement is an important technical act; it requires a lot of attention and requires a lot of supervision of the patient throughout his operation.

But it’s worth taking note: if you inject up to 20 cubic meters of air into a vein (this is a critical value), nothing bad will happen. The air bubble must be large enough to block large vessels. The small one is absorbed into the blood and body cells.

Nevertheless, the irresistible desire to find out what will happen if air is injected into a vein should go hand in hand with your prudence.

1 infusion bag containing liquid. 1 stack or nail in the wall for hanging the infusion bag at a height from the patient's level. Small bowl or beans. Group everything necessary equipment. Please check the expiration date of the infusion bag. Any infusion bag containing cloudy fluid will be discarded.

Remove the cap from more needles. Use a needle to perforate the infusion bag at this location. Remove the cap from needle no. Allow the liquid to cool in a clean container. The infusion is ready; to get to the patient's bedside. The patient must be well established, very often it will not be able to be disseminated within the time strictly required for the infusion.

What happens if you swallow a needle?

If you were suddenly sewing and then forgot that you had a tool in your mouth and, swallowing, sneezing, snorting, laughing, swallowed a needle, call an ambulance immediately. This is clear. Until the ambulance arrives, you cannot:

try to induce vomiting with your fingers or medicine,

tap on the back or chest.

The patient's arm should remain tense. For people working or children, it is necessary to immobilize the hand. To do this, place the tire. For example, wooden board or the drop will be secured with a bandage on either side of the elbow to flex the mobilization of the arm and so that the needle does not appear to be a vein.

Lethal dose of air during air embolism

Therefore, it will be necessary to calculate the number of drops that should be in one minute to complete the infusion into right time. Take your watch, count and enter the number. Be careful, if you feel pulsations, don't bite because it's an art, not a vein.

The main thing is not to be scared and do not make convulsive movements with your throat. It is quite possible that the needle will simply get stuck in upper section esophagus, like fish bone and the doctor who arrives will immediately pull her out on the spot.

The needle may well pierce the esophagus, especially if it is a sharp and narrow number, and go towards the lung or heart. However, folk horror stories about needles wandering through the human body are usually nothing more than stories. The needle often remains in muscle tissue, growing into them, where it can remain even for life, sometimes without causing disorders. This is the case if the process is not accompanied by inflammation. The sharpest needle remaining in the tissue will move for the time being, over the smallest distance. Typically, needles can move seriously only through a vein or if they enter a large cavity, such as the abdominal cavity. Most often, this is the prerogative of injection needles.

Draw a #2 needle and tube from the patient's arm. Tell the patient to close the fist to remove the vein. Leave the pipe in the beans; she shouldn't touch anything. Tell the patient not to move. Then he stopped the needle. Don't walk around your arm with plaster, it could be a tourniquet.

Apply a compress and fix the adhesive plaster. If necessary, immobilize the elbow with a splint. The infusion must be monitored throughout its operation. This means the needle is coming out of the vein. Flowing flowing fluid passes through. Stop immediately. Leave the infusion on the other shoulder.

It is most likely that the needle will get stuck in the narrowed area of ​​the esophagus and cause painful sensations. Then they will take you to the hospital, take an x-ray and determine its location. It often happens that the needle goes all the way to the stomach and there is a possibility that it may come out with feces through the intestines, but it’s still not worth the risk. Persistent retention of a needle in the stomach or intestines can lead to very serious consequences. The needle can puncture the wall of the stomach or intestines, which is dangerous for infection and peritonitis. Therefore, if you swallow needles, you should immediately call an ambulance.

If the needle is connected, it means that the blood is clotted in the needle. Take the infusion bag and lower it to the foot of the patient's bed, this is called the reflux technique. No, he doesn't come back: the needle is empty. Place the infusion on the other arm. Air embolism is the entry of air into the venous system by spontaneous entry under negative vein pressure or by active injection. Air can enter the bloodstream during surgical procedures, lung injury, decompression, and several other reasons.

The causes may be spontaneous air intake due to rupture of a large diameter blood vessel or rarely in active air during invasive procedures such as blood transfusion, hemodialysis, the use of infusion pumps and extracorporeal membrane oxygenators. Rarely in obesity-gynecological practice, air embolism may occur due to air flow through the open vessels of the uterus into the placenta during manual extraction of the placenta.

WHAT HAPPENS IF SPERM IS INJECTED INTRAVENOUSLY?

Sperm consists of seminal fluid (close in composition to plasma and lymph) and, in fact, sperm. The sperm will stupidly mix with the blood and nothing will happen, and the tadpoles will be taken as foreign body and attacked immune system person. As a result, we will have a rise in temperature and weakness close to a cold. If we look at it from the point of view of hormone content, a woman’s testosterone level will increase in her blood for a short time - and this will cause a temporary increase in libido, but men will not feel the difference at all. But if you inject sperm into an artery... It’s generally a bad idea to inject anything into an artery, especially one that is heterogeneous in consistency. So, in the worst case scenario, we can have a short-term blockage of blood vessels in the brain, which quickly resolves on its own due to proximity chemical composition to blood plasma and the absence of coagulating substances. As a result, the body will have a short-term malfunction and a couple of micro-strokes, which will not have a very good effect on you under any circumstances. If injected, the tadpoles killed by leukocytes will safely settle in the liver and spleen - like other dead blood cells.

What happens if you take off your spacesuit on Mars?

For air emboli, the following two conditions must exist. Direct connection between the air source and the vasculature by a pressure transducer that promotes the passage of air into the bloodstream. Key Factors The factors that determine the morbidity and mortality of airborne emboli are related to the volume of gas accumulation, the rate of accumulation, and the position of the patient at the time of the event. Typically, a small amount of air breaks into the capillary tube and is absorbed into the bloodstream without causing symptoms. However, complications have been reported when only 20 mL of air is administered intravenously.

Mars is a very disastrous place and categorically unsuitable for human life. “Colonists” who set foot on its surface would face a quick death due to a combination of at least the following factors:

1. An extremely rarefied atmosphere, with a pressure of 640 Pa [about 1/150 of Earth’s]. Water under such conditions boils at a temperature of about +0.5 Celsius, which is much lower than the temperature human body. That is, without a sealed hard spacesuit, similar to the lunar one, a person’s blood on Mars will instantly boil [complete boiling and horrors as in “Total Recall” will really not happen, because the boiling, even having begun, will be immediately stopped by the excess pressure of tissues stretched by gas (plus , it can be prevented by arterial/venous pressure in the human circulatory system). But the release of some gases from the blood will almost certainly occur, causing circulatory disorders, embolism and symptoms close to decompression sickness. It's incredibly painful and dangerous to your health, and for all practical purposes atmospheric pressure below approximately 6.3 kPa is detrimental to humans]. This alone is enough to leave the idea of ​​Mars as a “second home”, but I will add a few more touches to the picture:

2. Practically complete absence oxygen in the atmosphere. There is 0.13% there.

3. The impossibility of the existence of liquid water on Mars as a consequence. With extremely rare exceptions, water there is either steam or ice, and the transition between them is carried out directly, bypassing the liquid phase. This seriously undermines the possibility of populating Mars with some, say, lichens.

4. It's cold. Normal weather on Mars is -50 C, with variations from -130 C to +20 C.

5. Solar radiation. The planet's atmosphere is thin and transmits solar radiation with wavelengths from ~195 nm to the very surface. Ultraviolet radiation of such harshness is destructive for all earthly life. It is not for nothing that doctors use UV lamps to disinfect premises.

What happens if you fall into a black hole?

A question of this order arises today among many fans of action films and cool Hollywood series. Getting into a hospital bed, at the sight of a banal syringe or dropper, such suspicious patients feel a hurricane of the most unpleasant suspicions. What if the pretty nurse has little experience? Perhaps she confused the syringes with the medicine? Is the air removed from the syringe bottle sufficiently or is the nurse saving valuable medications? And the IV with its numerous tubes and adapters, where such a dangerous air bubble can get, causes a state of panic that reaches complete stupor... Provoking another question from the patient, “what happens if you inject air so that it gets into a vein? What consequences will this cause? Due to the mass of suspicions and questions, not only the desire to be treated disappears, but also to simply live in such a world.

Other aspects of embolism

There is no need to live according to the plots of far from first-class films. The possibility of air entering a large vascular bed has been considered in the context of practical medicine for quite a long time. The physiology of this process is simple. Air getting into the artery is considered the most serious problem. In this case, the blood flow is blocked, which is called an air embolism. It is this phrase that makes such a depressing impression on suspicious patients. Indeed, this situation allows us to seriously think about the consequences.

An air lock can not only block the flow of blood through the vascular bed. Having created a bubble, it can successfully wander through the arteries. The process proceeds gradually, the air passes in parts into smaller vessels, right up to the capillary network. It is this that provides blood supply to organs and systems, and any vital area may be completely isolated from the rest of the body. The consequences can be quite severe:

Heart attack. Formation of a coronary plug, necrosis of a fragment of the heart muscle of various sizes, depending on the diameter of the vessel.

Stroke. Atrophic change in brain tissue as a result of impaired nutritional functions when a vein is blocked by an air plug.

In fact, this serious complications which can lead to very dangerous consequences. This is what patients in manipulation rooms and clinics think about. Widely illuminated in not too professional literature, on the Internet, cardiac and cerebral embolism can cause severe panic in patients with nervous system disorders, even psycho-emotional disorders.

Speculation or reality?

IN real world, where classical medicine rules, everything is somewhat different, not so terrible and not so impressive. Such clinical picture, which is described above, is observed in only about 1% of cases from total number entry of air into the venous bed. In this context, just remember that to the human body inherent fusion of two main elements. Air is as inherent to it as water.

From school anatomy lessons, everyone who even studied poorly learned that a life-giving fluid moves through the bloodstream - blood enriched with oxygen. That is, the presence of oxygen is a physiological norm and does not cause our tissues and organs any discomfort at all. Why, according to the technology of intravenous injections, is it still necessary to remove all the air from the syringe or dropper?

In the presence of bubbles in the syringe, it is difficult to administer the drug and causes pain to the patient.

The patient feels the moment of penetration of the bubbles into the vein quite acutely; the pain can last for a certain period of time, after which it passes.

In the treatment of many diseases, so-called air injections are used, when oxygen is injected under the skin or intramuscularly. Here it dissolves almost immediately and creates an excellent healing effect.

Some details about oxygen

Returning to the very essence of this issue, we note that today many people with one diagnosis or another study a lot of information of one or another level of quality and reliability. That's why intravenous injection with two milliliters of oxygen is an almost universal “horror story”. And this is understandable, no one will enjoy the idea that you can get serious complications from a simple intravenous injection.

The notorious few air bubbles will just as quickly find their place in the venous bed, where depleted blood flows from organs, nodes and functional systems, as with injection subcutaneous method. The minimum that can enter a vein will not cause any harm. Of course, there is danger, but this level is much higher, up to two hundred or more bubbles. Even if it was deliberately introduced for one reason or another, this situation is quickly and accurately determined medical specialists another industry. However, this is already an area considered in a different context of the topic.

What are the confirmed lethal doses?

There are observations that with rapid administration, a person can normally tolerate the introduction of air into a vein of up to 20 cubic meters without consequences or deterioration of the condition. cm. Lethal dose according to Volkman - 40, according to Anton - 60, according to Bergman - 100 cubic meters. see I.P. Davitaya says the dose ranges from 400 to 6000 cc. see because in 1944 there was a case of introducing 300 ml of air into the cubital vein and the patient tolerated it normally. V. Felix names a number from 17 to 100. I.V. Davydovsky says that a harmless dose can still be considered from 15 to 20 cubic meters. cm air.

Conclusion

To what extent can this be decided, done and undertaken in order to be protected from lethal troubles? In the medical field, you just need to visit a clinic with a well-established reputation and carefully trained medical staff. And when performing procedures at home, you need to carefully monitor the removal of all air bubbles from the syringe, dropper or other devices and devices. But you will receive a full guarantee for your health and life exclusively from the hands of a professional, and therefore you should not take risks.

Hello dear readers. Air got into the syringe, is this dangerous, how to properly remove air bubbles from the syringe? This is what we will talk about today.

There are many myths about air. The most popular opinion is that if air enters subcutaneously or intramuscularly, then there will definitely be severe consequences, and with intravenous injection death.

In fact, nothing fatal will happen, even if you administer the drug intravenously. For an air embolism, which everyone is afraid of, a relatively large amount of air is needed, several tens of cubic centimeters. I don't think you'll do this by accident.

But this does not mean that the air does not need to be removed from the syringe, it is excess there and indeed, if a bubble gets in, there may be some complications. Keep in mind that injections are always accompanied by risk, therefore, the more “correct” it is to give an injection, the more less likely complications.

How to get rid of air in a syringe

In addition to the “classic” method - tapping the syringe with your finger, there is another effective method. Pay attention to the photos, it’s better to see how to do it once.

The first photo is at the very beginning of the article. Here I show small air bubbles that are difficult to get rid of, especially if they stick to the plunger of the syringe. Most often, air remains in syringes with a black plunger.

Second photo. Pull the piston towards you and draw in a small amount of air.

Third photo. Rotate the syringe in different planes, if necessary, tap a little with your finger. The goal is to collect the small ones with a large bubble.

Fourth photo. We turn the syringe over and squeeze out the air as we usually do. Now you can give the injection. It's simple.

Consider what happens different drugs and syringes, sometimes it is not possible to completely expel the air, no matter how hard you try, a few bubbles remain on the walls or on the piston. In this case, during the injection, hold the syringe with the piston up and inject, the bubbles will remain in the syringe.

Also remember that air occupies a certain volume, so there may be a slight error in dose. If you use potent drugs, be sure to take this point into account.

Air in the dropper

It happens that when the intravenous system is filled, or simply put, air gets into the tube. Most often, all or part of the liquid is drained from the system, but this is not necessary. You need to connect the IV and when the bubble approaches the catheter, disconnect it for a while, let the air come out and connect it again.

Wall bubbles that do not move do not need to be expelled at all; they do not pose a threat.

If suddenly you blinked and the bottle ended up intravenously, then there is no need to panic, nothing bad will happen. Of course, you shouldn’t specifically carry out such experiments; there is a possibility of complications, but it is extremely small.

There is also a fear that when the drip ends and all the liquid comes out, air will enter the vein - the animal or person will die, but this will not happen. If you do not intentionally change the pressure in the system, then the air will not flow into the vein, but will stop at a certain level. The pressure in the bloodstream is higher than atmospheric pressure.

Conclusion

Friends, I did not write this short article to make you relax and disdain injections, especially intravenous ones. No, so that you feel more confident during treatment and not be nervous if something goes wrong. Your worries will be passed on to the dog, she will start to fuss, decide to run away, rip off the catheter... and you will give up the whole idea of ​​treatment.

That's all for now, if you have any questions or additions, please write them in the comments below.

Veterinarian Sergei Savchenko was with you.

Probably, at least once in your life you have happened to go through such a not too painful, but still unpleasant situation as an intravenous injection. At this tense moment, many people have an alarming thought that air may get into the vein. Numerous detective series come to mind, where cunning villains committed murders in this way, leaving virtually no traces. What happens if you actually inject air into a vein?

IN real life everything is somewhat simpler and more prosaic than in the TV series. For a fatal outcome, you do not need a tiny air bubble, but a fairly large volume (about 10 milliliters). In addition, it can cause death only if it immediately penetrates major arteries and block the flow of blood.

What happens during the injection?

Please note that the arm is below the level of the heart during the injection. Thanks to this, the air will be absorbed before it rises to the vital organs.

By the way, in detective films and novels, insidious killers usually inject small vessels into the air, but in practice it is very, very difficult to get into them - almost impossible. In addition, the injection site that no one sees is another literary and cinematic myth. To discover it, you don’t even need to be the most brilliant of criminologists or a luminary of forensic medicine. After the death of a person, it becomes dark, and a light halo appears around him. So the average forensic expert will quickly find him and understand the cause of death.

But if everything is so simple, then why does the medical staff always try to remove the air before the injection? In fact, those same “ominous” air bubbles make the injection painful. The patient may feel discomfort and a bruise may remain at the injection site.

Dangerous situations

What happens if for some reason air does get into the artery? This causes a condition called air embolism. Its essence is that the blood flow is blocked. The air plug blocks the movement of blood along the vascular bed and, having created a bubble, wanders through the arteries. The air spreads in parts small vessels, right up to the capillaries. Because capillary mesh provides blood supply to all organs and systems, then due to an air embolism, a vital part of the body may be isolated. Likely consequences- heart attack and stroke.

Under what circumstances can such an amount of air enter a vein that is actually sufficient to cause death? This is possible with wounds and injuries to the neck or chest. These situations are dangerous because the neck is above the level of the heart, and in thoracic region pressure is lower than in environment. In this case, air is quickly absorbed into the circulatory system and simply breaks it.

During childbirth, during contractions of the uterus, air can enter its vena cava. In this case, it will be absorbed very quickly.

A phenomenon called pulmonary barotrauma occurs in the following situation: a diver runs out of air, holds his breath in panic and quickly rushes to the surface. As you ascend, the pressure decreases and the air in your lungs expands. The lungs become overfilled and the alveoli may rupture as a result. In this case, air from the lungs will pass into blood vessels and can provoke an air embolism.

Such cases are mostly fatal. But ordinary intravenous injection has nothing to do with them.

There is no point in being afraid of a tiny air bubble, but this does not mean that you can deliberately inject a full syringe of air into a vein. There is no consensus on what minimum amount of air can actually cause death.

Some believe that 10 cubes is enough, others call the figure 50 or even more. But nevertheless, you should not experiment and empirically check what happens if you inject air into a vein. If the ingress of a small amount of air happened accidentally, for example, when you injected yourself with medicine at home, then it is best not to panic, not to listen to the horror stories of relatives and friends, but to seek advice from a doctor who will calmly and reasonably explain everything to you.

How to give an intravenous injection correctly?

It is believed that only drug addicts give themselves intravenous injections, and ordinary people trust this is not an easy task medical personnel. But things happen in life emergency situations, and sometimes the fate and life of a person depends on how quickly the injection is given. Therefore, it is better to know, at least in theory, how to give an intravenous injection correctly.

Of course, it is necessary to follow standard hygiene rules: wash your hands, use only disposable or sterilized instruments, and treat the skin at the injection site. Typically, the veins of the cubital fossa are used for such injections. They have enough large size In addition, the layer of skin in this area is quite thin, so this approach is the simplest and most convenient. But injections can also be given in other places (for example, in the veins of the hand or forearm).

You need to draw the medicine into a syringe, make sure there are no air bubbles, and put the cap on the needle. The patient sits or lies down, fully extending his arm elbow joint. A tourniquet is applied to the middle of his shoulder. The patient needs to clench and unclench his fist several times to allow blood to fill the veins.

The skin treated with alcohol is stretched in the area of ​​the elbow and slightly shifted to the side. The syringe must be held so that the needle is located under acute angle to Vienna. When the skin is punctured, the needle is inserted a third of the way. At the same time, the patient clenches his fist. When the vein is punctured, you can slightly pull the syringe plunger towards yourself. If blood appears in it, then everything is fine. Now you need to untie the tourniquet, while the patient unclenches his fist.

The drug is administered slowly, then the injection site is pressed with cotton wool moistened with alcohol. Now you can remove the needle. The patient should bend his arm at the elbow for several minutes, holding the cotton wool with alcohol at the injection site.

On all drugs intended for intravenous injections, indicate that it is necessary to draw up the entire contents of the ampoule to the last drop and, before inserting the syringe, it is necessary to release all the air using the piston. Is this just mere cost-effectiveness or is there a valid medical explanation? Let's try to figure out what will happen if air is injected into a vein.

Is the amount of drug in the syringe really that important?

The amount of the drug actually has great importance. In small doses, even a few drops can affect therapeutic effect. If we are talking about regular injections, over the course of a week or even a month, the amount of the drug not received by the patient increases sharply.

Don't forget that The density of the ampoule contents may differ from the density of water, this is especially true for oil-based preparations.

Even a few drops can constitute a significant portion of the entire administered dose. Having not received the desired effect due to such an elementary oversight, the attending physician may replace the medicine with a more powerful one. Of course, this will be a mistake, and the patient will have to pay for it. Therefore, the prescribed medicine must enter his body in a clearly indicated dose, not a milligram more or less.

Air in the veins - 5 consequences.

Could something else get into the vessels, the same air? Let's consider main consequences, from the presence of air bubbles in our veins and arteries:

1. Development of air or gas embolism.
2. Blockage of small diameter vessels.
3. Damage to joints and muscles.
4. Paralysis.
5. Death.

By and large, air is a mixture of gases. Getting into a liquid medium, in our case into blood, gas turns into bubbles. The larger the volume received, the larger the diameter of the resulting air bubbles. A little more anatomy - blood flows through all vessels, delivering oxygen-enriched and nutrients blood. You can object, they say, here it is - oxygen in the blood. And nothing, no one has died from this in tens and hundreds of thousands of years.

But there is one important point, oxygen into our bloodstream comes in dissolved form from the lungs. The formation of any bubbles is even theoretically impossible when it comes to breathing. Actually, air entering a vein poses the same danger as a blood clot.

A real threat to life.

Some may not believe that a dense blood clot and ordinary air can lead to the same effect, but this is true. It doesn’t matter what the blood clot consists of, the main thing is that it is able to move through the vessels and clog them. At least myself circulatory system and quite complex, but no specific knowledge is needed to understand the consequences of embolism.

As a result of many studies, it was found that most often an air bubble is found in right half heart - atria or

Stomach. Another favorite place for air to spread is the vessels of the lungs.
In both options there is only one outcome - sudden death.

It is worth thinking about protecting yourself from air entering your body, given the fact that all the studies were carried out by pathologists on already dead people.

Discrepancy between theory and practice

So, it turns out that any incorrectly performed injection can result in death? In practice, everything is less tragic and frightening than in theory.. Everyone medical workers at specialized departments they teach that air in a syringe can really kill a patient. But it just so happens that over many years of practice, everyone makes mistakes, sending a significant amount of air along with the medicine into the patient’s vein. Absent-mindedness, forgetfulness, and sometimes a criminal desire to check. What do we get in the end, a corpse in a hospital bed and complaints to all possible authorities? But no, like this patients feel great and don't even notice the consequences. On the Internet you can find many comments from nurses that after accidentally introducing several “cubes” of air, a person experienced absolutely no sensations and this had no consequences for the body.

Of course, this does not mean that you need to try and inject air, that you can be negligent in your nursing duties and not leave only the medicine in the syringe. Remember also that everyone’s body is individual and the consequences can vary significantly. Some may say that such injections are fun or provide a “charge of vivacity.” In fact, the body does not receive any significant replenishment from such an amount of air that it seriously affects nervous system. Therefore, do not take this kind of stupid jokes and attempts to take you seriously.

Some things that can lead to an air embolism

But what’s the matter, why does such a beautiful theory fit so poorly with practice?

1. Air quantity.
2. Location of veins.
3. The pressure in them.

The fact is that all of these terrible outcomes most often occur with damage to the veins of the neck and after pregnancy. Separately, we can consider the consequences of operations on open heart, but such errors happen extremely rarely. But after the birth of the uterine vein, her inner surface- may gape. In this case, the woman in labor has every chance of dramatically increasing the air content in her blood, with all of the listed sad consequences. But in the veins of the neck and head there is negative pressure, they directly suck in air.

Given the close proximity of the brain and heart, death may come instantly.

The injection site is also of great importance; if you inject the medicine in the area of ​​the cubital fossa, this is one thing. But if you had to catheterize the cervical or subclavian vessels- the situation is somewhat different. Caution must also be observed after administering medications, because by introducing a needle, we violate the integrity of the skin. Even if the diameter of the hole is no more than a millimeter, but with negative pressure, atmospheric air will be sucked into the bloodstream at an amazing speed. And in some cases too much of it is not needed.

What happens if air is injected into a vein? It's okay, now you know that. Of course, it depends on the amount of air. But reinsurance is never superfluous. It is better to pay more attention to the health of the person to whom you will give an intravenous injection.

Video on the topic of air in the veins