Butt needles, which were popular when I was a child, why are there so few now?

When it comes to “injection”, many friends who have become nostalgic in their old age will definitely feel a dull pain in their buttocks.

In the past two years, after receiving various vaccines such as the new crown vaccine, HPV vaccine, and influenza vaccine, many people could not help but have a question:

Why are injections now in the arm? The ass pin is barely visible anymore?

An “injection” is medically called an injection and is one of the ways in which medicines get into the body. According to the specific puncture site, it can be further divided into intradermal injection, intravenous injection, intramuscular injection, subcutaneous injection and so on.

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Different injection methods and injection sites can affect how quickly the drug is absorbed. Different drugs have different requirements, and there are corresponding injection methods that are commonly used.

Ass injection is actually a drug intake method for intramuscular injection in the buttocks, which used to be a very mainstream method.

Ass needle, once a generation memory

“If you don’t obey me, I’ll take you to a spanking!” This sentence will probably scare children for generations.

Ass needles were common in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and into the 90s. At the injection window, the needle has not touched the buttocks, as long as the syringe is seen, many children are already scared.

At this time, the experienced nurse sister will ask: How old are you, little child? What school did you go to? Chatting and chatting, while you are not paying attention, the needle “biu” enters the skin.

Ass needles need to penetrate 2.5 to 3 centimeters vertically—roughly the equivalent of a knuckle of a finger—to break through the skin and the thick layer of fat on the buttocks and into the muscles.

Although the needle is actually less than a millimeter in diameter, you feel as if:

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Besides, it’s not over yet. The drugs that need to be injected into the buttock muscles are often in large quantities. In order to reduce irritation, many drugs cannot be pushed all at once.

You have to maintain this position for anywhere from half a minute to a few minutes, enduring the strange feeling of the liquid entering the muscles a little bit…

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Finally finished. You get off the injection table thinking it’s all right, but in fact the liquid stays in the muscle for half an hour or more. In other words, the embarrassing butt pain will continue to accompany for a while…

Therefore, those memories of butt needles in childhood are always accompanied by screaming and escaping, and if the pain goes to school the next day, I have to bear the ridicule of my friends. In the eyes of the children at the time, it was simple! There is no greater torture on earth than this! ! !

But you can’t refuse the pain, because someone will always tell you, “Be honest! If you move around and don’t get in, you’ll have to do it again.”

It’s horrible.

Ass needles, more than just a pain

Times are advancing and we are becoming more “hypocritical”. The way drugs enter the body has also quietly changed.

Butt intramuscular injections are much better today than they were back then. There will be no more “blunt needles” that are repeatedly used after retorting and sterilizing. The examination and certification of nursing staff has become more and more strict, and the phenomenon of blind piercing by village doctors without looking at the site has disappeared. Other adverse reactions, such as injection pain, are also becoming less common.

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But some congenital deficiencies of butt needles are still compressing its existence space.

First of all, pain cannot be completely avoided.

Although the current needles have been improved, compared to the thin skin and fleshy parts such as the upper arms and elbows, the butt needle still needs to break through the skin and fat that may be as thick as 3cm before reaching the muscles. , this is a huge wound, and the problem of pain cannot be completely avoided.

Secondly, there are some rare but troublesome injection complications, and safety risks are unavoidable.

Simple induration from repeated injections, and more troublesome can be gluteal contractures and sciatic nerve damage which can lead to disabling.

Gluteal muscle contracture is a special fibrotic spasm of the gluteus maximus or gluteus medius and its fascia, which can lead to dysfunction of the hip joint and affect subsequent walking. May be induced after repeated injections.

Sciatic nerve injury is easier to understand. When the injection site deviates too far from the green safety zone, it may affect the yellow sciatic nerve, and in severe cases, affect the muscle strength and activity of the entire lower limb, resulting in paralysis.

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The last one is privacy.

Exposing the buttocks is inconvenient after all. In some relatively less private public injection rooms, taking off the pants still requires a strong psychological construction.

Advances in medication, less butt piercing

Slowly, butt needles have become the memory of a generation, not a popular way of medication.

Search the Chinese medical journal database, and articles related to “intramuscular injection” have become increasingly rare. Children who grow up in the new century may have no experience of butt needles.

Roughly speaking, there are three main ways that drugs enter the body.

Topical absorption, such as eye drops, nasal drops, transdermal patches, etc.

It enters the body through the digestive tract, mainly by oral administration, and in a very small amount by enemas.

Various injections. The injection requires a needle to pierce the buttocks or mucous membranes, allowing the drug to penetrate under the skin and absorb quickly.

Drugs have changed a lot in the decades we grew up:

Some drugs that had to be injected intramuscularly have been eliminated, such as aminopyrine. For some drugs, there are oral preparations that are easier to absorb and more convenient to use, such as some penicillin drugs. There are more types of drugs, better taste, richer dosage forms, and improved preparation technology…all of which help us fill the space of the original butt needle.

The remaining intramuscular injections are mainly vaccinations, most of which are recommended in the deltoid muscle of the upper arm, and some intramuscular injections in the thigh in childhood.

Of course, for some drugs today, there is still room for intramuscular injection in the buttocks, and buttock needles are the most suitable for their absorption and utilization. Such as certain vitamin preparations, glucocorticoids, streptomycin for the treatment of tuberculosis, and so on.

The doctor and nurse really want to give you a spanking, so don’t wave your hand to refuse.

Principles of Safe Medication Use

Whether it’s a butt injection or an oral medication, the basic safety principles are the same:

Can be taken orally without intramuscular injection or intravenous infusion;

It is also safe to operate the spanking needle in a standardized manner. When it is really necessary, there is no need to resist it, just follow the doctor’s advice;

Children are not miniature adults, children should use children’s medicine;

To follow the doctor’s instructions to take the medicine on time and according to the dosage;

Medications are based on the needs of the disease, and don’t need to be used if you can, don’t use everything once;

Multiple drugs may interact with each other, and it is recommended to use them under the guidance of a doctor;

Don’t panic before taking medicine, read the instructions carefully (recommended medication assistant app);

Medications are collected in the medicine cabinet, kept in a cool, dry place at home, and out of the reach of children. (except for a few special drugs)

In the future, I hope we will no longer have painful memories of medication.

This article reviewer

References

[1] Barry JM, Harsh V, Patil S. Are our intramuscular injections nerve-friendly? What are we missing? Simple techniques to prevent, recognize and manage nerve injection injuries[J]. International Journal of Students’ Research, 2014, 4(2): 25.

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