Should you or should you not massage your post-injection area?

[thrw.w4y]

I often hear that if there's swelling and redness after injection, it means either:

A) the oil hasn't dispersed properly (possibly scar tissue or poor injection technique)
B) after you wiped down your injection point, you didn't wait for the alcohol to dry yet (so when you inject some of the alcohol, a lump forms underneath)
C) too much BA in the gear (meaning it's the manufacturer's fault)

To fix this problem, you should massage the post-injection area and use heating methods, right?

The problem is that I've also heard a lot of people say massaging the post-injection area can do more damage, especially in the case of an abscess. Massaging an abscess can spread the bacteria underneath.

For a beginner (like myself), it's very hard to tell whether or not it's an abscess or just a normal PIP lump. I've experienced two of these painful lumps myself (from two different cycles). They usually last about a week and then go away on their own but I have never tried massaging them because I thought they were abscesses.

Also, I'm very careful with my injection technique and I always make sure everything is sterile. The only problem I have is my hand shakes a lot when I inject, which is probably what causes these lumps.

So I guess my questions are:
1. How do you tell if what you have is a regular lump or if it's an abscess?
2. As a general rule, should you massage your post-injection area or leave it alone?

[Mr.BB]

Swelling and redness after injection means either:

a)Gear is contaminated, or you contaminated the area/needle/syringe/whatever creating a infection. Fever is another dead giveaway.
b)Your body is reacting to the gear because its not used to it, or you are allergic to any of the contents.
c)The gear is poorly produced (too much BA, acidic, etc)
d)You are not injecting deep enough

1. Fever and increasing redness. Lumps are usually from not going deep enough, redness is more a immune system reaction.
2. You can massage it lightly. But IM injections are not supposed to be massaged, it will speed the ester release, so with slow esters it shouldn't be done, short esters maybe its not really a problem. If there's infection it will hurt a lot massaging it, and can spread.

[AR's King Silabolin]

Swelling and redness after injection means either:

a)Gear is contaminated, or you contaminated the area/needle/syringe/whatever creating a infection. Fever is another dead giveaway.
b)Your body is reacting to the gear because its not used to it, or you are allergic to any of the contents.
c)The gear is poorly produced (too much BA, acidic, etc)
d)You are not injecting deep enough

1. Fever and increasing redness. Lumps are usually from not going deep enough, redness is more a immune system reaction.
2. You can massage it lightly. But IM injections are not supposed to be massaged, it will speed the ester release, so with slow esters it shouldn't be done, short esters maybe its not really a problem. If there's infection it will hurt a lot massaging it, and can spread.

2: yes. Before i started i red the steroidbook and the author suggested 1 min massage postshot in order to spread the oil so lumps werent created.
Ive done several hundreds of injections and never ever had problems.
My rules are as follows.

1: Never cleaned the spot.
2: always used new needles, one for drawing, one for injecting.
Always in the upper right ass, lying on the side in my bed.
3: always stretch the skin at the injectionspot with the other hand.
4: 1 min injectionspot massasing with paper ( reg toilepaper) after injection.
5: inject as slowly as u can (avoid trencough)
6: try to not go beond 2,5 cc each time
7: no more shots than every other day.
8: if more, use that other asside.
9; upper side of ass is by far the best spot.

[Tlolec the toilet]

i massage every single time

[Euroholic]

No need to over think things just swab the site jab her in. slowly release then pull out. Then go about your business. Its that simple. I dont bother changing the needle for drawing/injecting i just use the one size. Much more efficient. But i recommend others to do so.

[DocToxin8]

BB is right on the money,
The most common reason for seeing a red lump is not injecting deep enough.
First time it happened to me I was sure it was an abscess, had completely forgot that I didn't have any fever or felt sick,
so I stuck a 21G needle in that lump and SPLOSH;
Wonderful and nice red red blood gushing out,
Obviously containing oil (felt it between my fingers)
could even taste the oil, as I naturally tasted it when it didn't smell bad.

The next times I just let it be, and the lump disappears within 5days at the most. When doing SubQ shots the first times the same happened, sort of,
But it looked more like a mosquito bite and itches.

Be sanitary when injecting gear, wash the ampoule/top of vial with an alco swab, take a shower first, then inject needle, aspirtate and push it in.
I use a 25G needle so it does take time.
Swabbing the area you inject with alcohol isn't necessary if you showered first, but it doesn't hurt either.
And you could inject some of that isopropyl alcohol no problem, so waiting until it dries doesn't cause a lump, it does however, make the alco swab pointless.
(It's the drying action of the alcohol that really kills the germs.)

[Chicagotarsier]

Rules I follow is no more than 500 ml in one muscle and do not massage. Had one lump and it went away in 10 days. No clue why..shat happens.

[ScotchGuard02]

I used to massage the PIP area. It didn't help much, it just hurt while doing it. Now I just kick the dog when I get PIP. LOL NOT!

[Mr.BB]

Rules I follow is no more than 500 ml in one muscle and do not massage. Had one lump and it went away in 10 days. No clue why..shat happens.

Yeah, kinda strange for lump to appear after injecting half a liter of oil, huh?? No clue what so ever

[75 Dogs]

Rules I follow is no more than 500 ml in one muscle and do not massage. Had one lump and it went away in 10 days. No clue why..shat happens.

Yeah, kinda strange for lump to appear after injecting half a liter of oil, huh?? No clue what so ever

Hahah...when I get to 2 cups of liquid, it's my rule to stop injecting that muscle too!

thr.4wy,
I've only done TRT, so I don't inject the volume many probably do (no more than .5 ml for me) but I've done it twice a week for a couple years, started with 1" and now with 5/8", and I've never massaged and never had any problems. Not saying I'm right, but that's what I do.

[chab]

From my own experience; massaging the area after the injection will only lead to oil spread outside the muscle which will lead to a lump which happened to me many times.
Pressing the area hard for about 30 sec after the injection to trap the oil inside the muscle is what works for me without any massage ...
And don't listen to people who tell you not to clean the area .... u don't wanna risk getting all those bacteria inside your body, just wait like 10 sec for alcohol to dry and u are good to go ...

[Vincentino]

Okay, so here's the thing:
Knowing your body and how you really "feel" at any given time when you aren't sick is the key to knowing whether you're just battling some ass-kicking PIP, or whether you've got something serious kicking under the skin. Everyone knows that with infection, comes fever, headache, sometimes nausea, and red/inflamed skin. Well, I've had just about ALL of these symptoms just from my body adjusting to new gear. As I said in the beginning, it's key to understand how your body feels when you're sick. With that being said-
1.) If you have unusual swelling on an injection site (you can definitely tell the difference from a poor stick and an abscess), warm, red, inflamed skin that is incredibly painful (I'm talking if it's a glute injection and you can't even sit on it or bend your leg in a manner that puts pressure/pain on your muscle), and it doesn't go away in at most 4 days? You may want to take a trip to the doctor. I'd you have a good relationship with your PCP (primary care physician) then don't be hesitant to tell them what's going on. Most doctors deal with this shit ALOT, you'd just never guess it.
2.) I really think this is all personal preference. When I first started, I got really terrible PIP just from pinning like a moron (shaky hands, moving too damn much, crappy injection placement), and I started massaging the site with a warm cloth or rag immediately after. Now that I'm more experienced, I don't have hardly any issues unless I'm using more concentrated gear. But still, it's all on how you feel. Maybe it was a mental placebo thing? Maybe not, but it made me feel better.
Hope this helps. Cheers.