Aspiration Faq

Medical Term: Aspirate: The material that is withdrawn with a negative pressure apparatus (syringe).

Merriam Webser Dictionary:
Aspirate: 1as·pi·rate
Pronunciation: 'as-p(&-)r&t
Function: noun
Material removed by aspiration.

Aspiration: as·pi·ra·tion
Pronunciation: "as-p&-'rA-sh&n
Function: noun
A drawing of something in, out, up, or through by or as if by suction: the withdrawal of fluid or tissue from the body.

There is much debate on the importance of aspiration and why. I know some users across the boards do not aspirate and have had no problems thus far. MODS, VETS, and contributing members here in majority preach to aspirate. I wanted to state certain facts and risks taken if you choose not to. In my research I have come up with these facts and comments. I wish I had even more indepth data but this is as informational. The point in many of my advice and others is to take as much risk out of using AS as possible. This is the point of this thread. Why not aspirate?

This quote is taken from another website and credit is due:
by tsingtao (much thanks goes to 46and2aheadofme, superchicken, and Dr. Nguyen)

Quote:

What is aspiration?
To aspirate is to withdraw fluid with a syringe. More specifically, after inserting the needle, pulling back on the plunger of the syringe for a few seconds to see if the needle is in a blood vessel. Rarely, this will be the case and a bit of blood will fill the syringe. If this happens the needle should be removed, replaced with a new one, and another injection site should be used. And yes, if there is a little blood in your syringe, it is ok to inject it along with your steroid once you have found a different spot..........it's your own blood isn't it?

When aspirating, nothing should come back into the syringe if you are in the right spot. Pulling back on the plunger will create a vacuum in your syringe. The oil cannot expand to fill that space, but any air bubbles in your syringe will. You may notice the tiny bubbles getting bigger and bigger as you pull back. They will return to normal size as you release the plunger. If the air bubbles do not disappear upon releasing the plunger, you have an air leak most likely caused by the needle not being screwed onto the syringe tightly enough, although on very rare occasions, the syringe or needle itself can be defective. Either way, purge the air bubbles out, put a new needle on and try it again.

Do I really need to aspirate?
Those who inject without aspirating are taking unnecessary chances. Sweating, nausea, dizziness, severe coughing, breathing difficulties, anaphylactic shock, coma or death can all result from not aspirating. Most of the time, steroid users experience dizziness and coughing fits when they inject into a blood vessel. But you need to be aware of the dangers of neglecting this simple technique that should take about 3-5 seconds of your time.

There have been many times I have been guilty of this. I can remember one time in specific I did a quad injection. I did not aspirate and after the administration of dosage I suddenly felt nausea, sweaty, and dizzy. I had to sit down and my view appeared blurry. I knew right then what had happened. I had probably injected into a vien. I sat for a few minutes and some time afterwards It went away. Was not a nice feeling. That result taught me my lesson.

Great Info Bro, Thanks for the insite.

You're on a roll today LMR. I do believe, however that the notion that death or any serious permanent harm can result from foregoing aspiration is false. There have been a few threads on this that I can recall, and in each case someone with a medical background - or someone who has inquired of such a person - has refuted this misconception. Nonetheless, the other real consequences should be enough to motivate one to aspirate. Good post.