• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Injecting through clothing...a possible source of contamination?

leslie10152

leslie10152

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,110
Location
Canberra ACT
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Ignorance
I have met many people who through convenience, inject through clothing. I too have done this on occasion, but the point I want to raise is - is it a possibility for the needle to pick up foreign material or bacteria in the cloth which can be transferred into the injection site? This is food for thought.
 
I don't inject, but obviously it's possible.
On the upside, I stab myself on everything you could imagine, from floorboards to sewer pipes, so I am used to bumps and lumps appearing here and there.
But, I am up to date on every shot imaginable, so maybe it's worth going for that?
 
douglas99 said:
I don't inject, but obviously it's possible.
On the upside, I stab myself on everything you could imagine, from floorboards to sewer pipes, so I am used to bumps and lumps appearing here and there.
But, I am up to date on every shot imaginable, so maybe it's worth going for that?
Click to expand...
Amen.
 
Short answer is yes. If a needle touches anything before it pierces the skin it can pick up contaminants, bacteria, viruses etc. Whether that results in any harm is on the lap of the gods. If it goes wrong the stakes are pretty high though.
 
my friend's father in law does this. She is always warning him about it.
 
I'm pretty sure you also risk microfibers and stuff to be constantly forced inside your body. As we inject into fatty tissue, this is very different from some fabric getting on a scrape on the top layer of the skin.

People do it, but it makes me extremely uncomfortable so I just inject without clothing in the way. I'd rather people have to put up with my floppy gut than to risk infections from any kind of contaminant.
 
It's not just a possibility; it's an inevitability. Most people would have a strong enough immune system to handle most potential infections but definitely not all.
 
As someone who has recently been treated for blood poisoning, and an abcess, which took less than 48 to get to the point of needing hospitalisation and IV antibiotics, please dont take risks. Sepsis is a dangerous thing.
 
The main reason I avoided injecting through clothing is that it blunts the needles.
 
Back
Top