How to Give Yourself a Subcutaneous Injection Using a Prefilled Syringe

This information will help you learn how to give yourself a subcutaneous (SUB-kyoo-TAY-nee-us) injection (shot) using a prefilled syringe. A subcutaneous injection is an injection that’s given under your skin. A prefilled syringe is a syringe that comes with medicine inside.

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Your healthcare provider will show you how to give yourself the injection. You can use the information in this resource to remember how to do it when you’re at home.

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How to store your prefilled syringes

How you store your prefilled syringes depends on the medicine inside them. Most medicines are stored at room temperature, but some need to be kept in the refrigerator. Your healthcare provider will tell you how to store your syringes. Don’t store your prefilled syringes in the freezer or leave them in direct sunlight.

If you have questions about how to store or carry your prefilled syringes when you travel, talk with your healthcare provider.

What to do if the medicine freezes

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If the medicine inside a syringe freezes, put the syringe near the front of the refrigerator or on the shelves inside the refrigerator door so it can thaw. If it freezes more than once, don’t use it. Call your healthcare provider for further instructions.

How to give yourself a subcutaneous injection

Gather your supplies

Place your supplies on a clean, flat surface (such as a table or countertop). You’ll need:

1 alcohol pad
1 small gauze pad or cotton ball, except if you’re giving yourself an injection of enoxaparin (Lovenox®) or heparin
1 bandage (such as a Band-Aid®)
A solid container to throw away the syringe and needle (such as a heavy plastic laundry detergent bottle with a lid)
- Read How to Store and Get Rid of Your Home Medical Sharps for instructions for choosing a sharps container.
1 prefilled syringe with a needle cap
- If you store your prefilled syringes in the refrigerator, take one out 30 minutes before you plan to give yourself the injection. The medicine should be at room temperature when you inject it.
- Don’t shake the syringe. Shaking it may damage the medicine inside.

Check the prefilled syringe

Check the medicine:

Name. Make sure it matches what your healthcare provider prescribed.
Dose. Make sure it matches what your healthcare provider prescribed.
Expiration date. Make sure the expiration date hasn’t passed.
Color. Make sure the medicine in the syringe is clear and colorless. Don’t use it if it looks foamy, discolored, cloudy, or has crystals in it.

If the medicine name or dose doesn’t match what your healthcare provider prescribed, the medicine is expired, or the medicine is foamy, discolored, cloudy, or has crystals, don’t use the syringe. If you have another, use that one instead. Then, contact your healthcare provider or pharmacist to tell them. You may be able to bring the full syringe to your pharmacy so they can replace it.

Get the injection site ready

Choose an injection site (place on your body to give the injection) where you can pinch a 1 to 2-inch (2.5 to 5-centimeter) fold of skin. It’s best to use one of the following areas (see Figure 1):

Your abdomen (belly), except for the 2-inch (5-centimeter) area around your belly button
The middle front or middle outside of your thighs
The upper area of your buttocks (butt)
The back part of your upper arms, if someone else is giving you the injection

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If your healthcare provider tells you to use a certain injection site, follow their instructions. Some medicines work better if they’re injected into a certain area. Don’t inject into an area that’s tender, red, bruised, hard, or that has scars or stretch marks.

Give the injection in a different area each time. It’s helpful to use a notebook or calendar to keep track. Injecting in the same spot each time will make scar tissue form. This can keep the medicine from working like it’s supposed to. It will also make it hard to put the needle into your skin.

Once you choose an injection site, follow the instructions below.

Give yourself the injection

Read the resource How to Store and Get Rid of Your Home Medical Sharps for information about choosing a sharps container and disposing of your used syringes and other home medical sharps.

When to Call Your Healthcare Provider

Call your healthcare provider if:

The injection site won’t stop bleeding.
You have very bad pain.
You inject the medicine into the wrong area.
You develop a fever of 100.4 °F (38 °C) or higher.
You develop signs of an allergic reaction, such as swelling, redness, itching, or a rash.
You can’t use a syringe because the medicine is expired, foamy, discolored, cloudy, or has crystals.
You can’t use a syringe because something touches the needle before the injection.
You can’t use a syringe prefilled with Lovenox because it didn’t have an air bubble.
You have trouble giving the injection.

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