Worried about this—should every shot site get a bandage now?

Nope, I hardly ever bleed from these. At the doctor's office, I've gotten other shots that did require a bandage, but those involved bigger needles or went into the muscle.
 
I honestly can't figure out which spot I used for the shot, so how am I supposed to know where a band aid goes 😆
 
Nerker said:

Hi, I might sound like someone who's just asking for a bacterial infection, but I've turned into a full-time pincushion lately, so I need to ask: is everyone putting a band-aid on each injection spot nowadays? Sometimes I'm doing 3 sites a day, and ripping those band-aids off hurts like a mofo. For someone who feels like a living voodoo doll, what's the right way to handle this? TY, Nerky
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Using band-aids is an absolute must. And don't rip them off—let them stay put until they fall away while you shower. Keep a good supply on hand and stay safe.
 
I clean the spot using an alcohol wipe. When it's Klow, I take a cotton pad and press lightly for a few seconds. That's it.

Back when my daughter was 2, we had those bright, colorful band-aids, and she enjoyed wearing them like accessories. You could try that just for fun.. 😉
 
Honestly, that's overkill. If there's an unusual situation where bleeding starts and won't quit right away, then covering it with a bandaid is reasonable. But normally the needles used are so tiny that bleeding just doesn't occur.
 
Nerker said:

Hi, I might sound like someone who's just asking for a bacterial infection, but I've turned into a full-time pincushion lately, so I need to ask: is everyone putting a band-aid on each injection spot nowadays? Sometimes I'm doing 3 sites a day, and ripping those band-aids off hurts like a mofo. For someone who feels like a living voodoo doll, what's the right way to handle this? TY, Nerky
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For me to think a bandaid is warranted, the bleeding has to continue beyond a couple seconds. So far I haven't jabbed myself hard enough for that to happen. As long as you swabbed the spot with an alcohol wipe before injecting, you should be okay.
 
Honestly, when I see that little pinprick, reaching for a bandaid never even crosses my mind.

I almost never bother with them. In my opinion, they just trap dirt and press it into the puncture. I also skip the alcohol wipe before injecting. A lot of that habit sticks around because of what society expects, not because it's needed—if your skin is already clean, it's really not required, and there's mounting evidence that we should be paying attention to skin barrier health too.
 
Saw a post. At the start, I had questions about bandaids.

Once that first needle goes in, taking the bandaid off seems like it would sting more than the shot itself. lol. I just use alcohol before and after.
 
Imcody2010 said:

Saw a post. At the start, I had questions about bandaids.

Once that first needle goes in, taking the bandaid off seems like it would sting more than the shot itself. lol. I just use alcohol before and after.
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I skip the alcohol altogether, both beforehand and afterward. The needle barely breaks the skin—honestly, I pick up nastier scrapes and nicks just doing yard work from morning to night. Still kicking.
 
indolent said:

Only Hello Kitty or Casper the Friendly Ghost bandaids count as medically effective. That's science.
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Hi there! How about the Snoopy kind? That beagle is what keeps me protected!😆
 
As much as the idea of putting a Hello Kitty bandaid on my butt each morning appeals to me, only my husband would ever get a look at it. So it's swab, pin, swab, and off I go.
 
After I pin, I generally don't look at the spot again, even with IM using a 1 in 25G.

My routine is: alcohol pad wipe, inject, then carry on. I quit using an alcohol pad afterward because it sometimes caused stinging.

Top of the thigh is off-limits for me regardless of how I inject, the needle size, or the angle — it bleeds and then aches afterward. A bandage would really only go on if the site were visible (say, delts) and I had somewhere to be immediately after
 
spanky2026 said:

Imcody2010 said:

Saw a post. At the start, I had questions about bandaids.

Once that first needle goes in, taking the bandaid off seems like it would sting more than the shot itself. lol. I just use alcohol before and after.
Click to expand...
I skip the alcohol altogether, both beforehand and afterward. The needle barely breaks the skin—honestly, I pick up nastier scrapes and nicks just doing yard work from morning to night. Still kicking.
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Haha, I get that. Using a weed eater while wearing shorts leaves me all scratched up, yet I avoid jeans when it's this hot unless a tough day of work is ahead. Given the choice, I'd take the pin over that any time.
 
For anyone just starting out, here's something worth knowing: if you use alcohol to wipe the area before pinning, wait until it has fully dried. Otherwise, the chance of an ISR rises quite a bit.
 
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