Penicillin injections - U/D new developments...

[MightyMax]

Digby is absolutely fine thank goodness! I feel stupidly pleased with myself! And very proud of him for being such a good boy

Ooh well done you!

It certainly IS nerve wracking so you are very brave, and so is Digby!

I have always been given green needles (the short ones) for penicillin as it's too thick to easily get through the blue ones.

I think it's wonderful the way buns sit still for their injections, when if it was me I would be running for the door...

 

[ripminnie]

Think I was too cocky the other day failed miserably trying to inject him tonight the first attempt, the needle went in, but as soon as I started to press the syringe, the stuff started dribbling out and down his fur I washed him all down, then had a second attempt with fresh needle/syringe. It started better, needle went in, I squeezed it more slowly, and a lot more went in, but then it all came out again. I had to wash it all off again, I'm so scared of one of them ingesting it I feel like a total failure now, I can't do it again tonight, I don't know how much actually went into him, and I don't want him being a pin cushion why does it come back out?? What am I doing wrong? I'm going to call the vet tomorrow, but can anyone help me? I'm so upset now, I want to be able to do it right to give him the best chance of getting better. It was fine on Saturday!!

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Think I was too cocky the other day failed miserably trying to inject him tonight the first attempt, the needle went in, but as soon as I started to press the syringe, the stuff started dribbling out and down his fur I washed him all down, then had a second attempt with fresh needle/syringe. It started better, needle went in, I squeezed it more slowly, and a lot more went in, but then it all came out again. I had to wash it all off again, I'm so scared of one of them ingesting it I feel like a total failure now, I can't do it again tonight, I don't know how much actually went into him, and I don't want him being a pin cushion why does it come back out?? What am I doing wrong? I'm going to call the vet tomorrow, but can anyone help me? I'm so upset now, I want to be able to do it right to give him the best chance of getting better. It was fine on Saturday!!

It may be that you are pushing the needle in too far or using a needle with a too big gauge.

What size needle are you using ?

 

[ripminnie]

It may be that you are pushing the needle in too far or using a needle with a too big gauge.

What size needle are you using ?

How far are you supposed to push the needle in?? :? It was fine on Saturday, I don't understand the needles are 21G x 5/8".

 

[parsnipbun]

I find penicillin almost impossible -

everyone has 'tips' - like what size needle to use, or draw it up with one then inject with a new one, or keep it warm, or keep it cold, or . . .


basically its **** stuff to inject -

I always book nurses appts and take the bun to them - that way if I am paying per injection I don't end up with £7's worth on the floor!!! If they cant get it in its up to them to replace it!

 

[Dave81]

I think I'd cry if I had to inject one of my rabbits, I'd be scared of doing it wrong. I suppose with more practice you will get more confident on what your doing

 

[ripminnie]

I find penicillin almost impossible -

everyone has 'tips' - like what size needle to use, or draw it up with one then inject with a new one, or keep it warm, or keep it cold, or . . .


basically its **** stuff to inject -

I always book nurses appts and take the bun to them - that way if I am paying per injection I don't end up with £7's worth on the floor!!! If they cant get it in its up to them to replace it!

It's good to know it's not just me :wave: but Digby has to have an injection every other day for 1-2 months taking him to the vets every other day would be so stressful for him, he hates travelling. But it doesn't look like I'll be able to fo it myself so I don't know what to do for the best.

 

[Roseberry]

you will get better, dont worry! After you have injected it, are you holding your finger over the hole? I found that this helps. Vets sometimes do this with jabs, then after they have held finger on it for a bit they then move then injected skin in circles. this moves the liquid away from the injection site a bit. As long as you have made a tend of skin (lifted up) and are not injecting down towards they body, it doesnt matter how far you go, as long as you dont come out the other side of your 'tent'. You could even hold the needle in for longer after you have injected it. most of the time I dont think my bunny even felt it. Only a couple of times when I made it bleed! No idea what I did different to do this :S If you have cleaned it off he shouldnt ingest it, and this is easier if you have trimmed or shaved the fur in this area. Also, if you do it right inbetween the shoulder blades and the neck, it is very hard for them to clean there. I ended up using a bit of soap, then washing it off when I got barney covered in penicillin one time, i was so scared about him eating him eating it. he never showed any interest in licking or scratching that bit though.

 

[Captain Helen]

I found it tricky. Once I pushed the needle too far and it all came out the other side. I found warming it in my hands helped. Shaving the area sounds like a good idea, I'd ask the vet to do that for me, if I ever had to inject again. Don't feel bad, even vets get it wrong sometimes! xx

 

[Santa]

I'm also injecting penicillin into Dudley at the moment, it definitely makes me more nervous than other injections. I had the same problem as you are describing when I first used to inject Santa. Two things I found helped other than the 'renting' I described before - one is to gently pull back on the plunger before injecting, if you've gone all the way through, you'll suck air into the syringe. If it's under the skin, it will form a vacuum and will suck the plunger back to where it started.

The second is to just be more forthright with it. Confidence does come with practice, but the more tentative and nervous you are, the more likely it is that you will just get under the surface into the top layers of skin where there is more risk of it leaching back out. I find now that if I place the needle swiftly without thinking about it, I get much better and quicker placement than when I spent ages trying really hard to get a good tent and finding the skin and gently pushing the needle in. So it might be worth giving it a go at just scruffing and stabbing the needle in quickly without thinking about it too much.

Oh, and I've thought of a third thing, Santa was quite wiggly and I always tried to inject her on a work surface just like they do at the vets, but when I'm on my own I found it easier to do it sat in a chair with her in my lap. That way she was limited in the amount of room she had to wiggle and it was easier to get a good placement. It is really hard once you've got a mental block with penicillin, I had the same and it was only after I went back to the vets and had one of the nurses give me a nice calm lesson in how to inject practicing with some fluids, that I got the hang of it. Good luck, I'm sure it will come with practice x

 

[ripminnie]

Well, I spoke to the vet today hoping for some advice re my injection giving. The first thing he said was not to worry too much about them anymore, as he has had a reply from the other vet who he referred Digby's X-rays to...

Apparently, taking everything into consideration, that is, Digby's eye symptoms and the fact that metacam helps him a lot, and that he hasn't shown any vestibular symptoms such as loss of balance or head tilt, he doesn't think that his ear is affecting him much if at all. On examination of the X-rays, it would appear that the incisor roots are 'crowned' instead of being chisel shaped. These could be affecting his tear ducts and causing him some pain. So now it looks like he will have to have his front teeth done under GA, after having his back ones done when they were probably fine in the first place
So, I'm pleased that I don't have to inject him any more as I was really struggling, but not relishing the thought of another anaesthetic and my insurance won't cover dentals, I'm going to be bankrupt! :shock:

 

[GrahamL]

Well, I spoke to the vet today hoping for some advice re my injection giving. The first thing he said was not to worry too much about them anymore, as he has had a reply from the other vet who he referred Digby's X-rays to...

Apparently, taking everything into consideration, that is, Digby's eye symptoms and the fact that metacam helps him a lot, and that he hasn't shown any vestibular symptoms such as loss of balance or head tilt, he doesn't think that his ear is affecting him much if at all. On examination of the X-rays, it would appear that the incisor roots are 'crowned' instead of being chisel shaped. These could be affecting his tear ducts and causing him some pain. So now it looks like he will have to have his front teeth done under GA, after having his back ones done when they were probably fine in the first place
So, I'm pleased that I don't have to inject him any more as I was really struggling, but not relishing the thought of another anaesthetic and my insurance won't cover dentals, I'm going to be bankrupt! :shock:

Welcome to my world and many others

Glad they've found out what the issue could be however!