7 Reasons Why You Should Get Injections Done at Home

What is an Injection?

An injection, also known as shot or jab, is a common medical procedure to administer medications or fluids into the body with the use of needle, syringe, and sometimes cannula. It is usually given by a trained healthcare professional, although certain injections like insulin shots can easily be done on your own with proper techniques.  

Getting injections at home can be delivered in two ways:

• Through self-administration (injecting on your own)
• Through home-based nursing care

Types of Injections

Injection types are determined by which body tissue is injected, or which route the injection is given.  

There are 4 major types of injections:

Intravenous injections

Intravenous (IV) means the injections are administered directly into your vein. As medication is injected straight away into your bloodstream, the time taken for your body to respond is much quicker. Hence, this type of injection is preferred for patients who are in need of immediate results where oral medication is not as effective.  

IV injections can be used as a one-time shot or slow and constant dosage controlled over a certain period of time (most common example is IV drips). 

It usually functions to supply fluids or electrolytes to hydrate a patient, to administer pain medications, and to give anaesthesia during surgery.  

Intramuscular Injections 

Intramuscular (IM) refers to injections given into the tissue of your muscle. Like IV injections, IM injections are one of the fastest ways to distribute medication throughout the body due to the large amount of blood vessels surrounding the muscle. 

As muscles are situated deep below the multiple layers of skin, longer needles may be used to reach them. Inflammation is also a typical reaction—which makes IM injections the most uncomfortable and painful procedure among other types. 

The most recent example of IM injection is the Covid’19 vaccines. Other common uses include:

• Botox 
• hormones 
• allergy treatments
• certain types of antibiotics.

Subcutaneous Injections 

This type of injection is administered into the bottom fatty layer of your skin known as subcutaneous (SC) tissue or hypodermis. The layer consists of mostly fat, collagens, nerves, and blood vessels. Also known as ‘subcut’ or ‘SQ’, SC injections are less painful and minimally uncomfortable due to use of fine needles.

Unlike IV and IM injections, your body absorbs the medication more slowly through SC injection, due to a lesser amount of blood vessels in the subcutaneous tissue. 

This makes it the best method for medications that your body needs to use gradually and long-term, such as:

• insulin (for diabetic patients)
• blood thinners or anticoagulants (patients at risk of getting blood clots)
• arthritis medications
• fertility medications

SC injections usually can be self-administered at home once trained properly by a professional nurse. 

Less common injection routes are:

Intradermal Injections

Intradermal (ID) injections target the middle skin layer known as dermis, situated above the subcutaneous fatty layer. As dermis is much closer to the surface of the skin, small bumps (wheal) are visible after the injection.  

It requires a complex technique, which is why ID injections are rarely used for vaccinations. Common use is specifically to diagnose a cause or a condition such as allergy tests and tuberculosis tests.

Similarly to SC injection, this type of injection also has slower absorption rate than IV and IM injections. 

Intraosseous Injections

Intraosseous (IO) injections are administered directly into your bone marrow. This procedure is reserved for emergency cases whereby the vein cannot be accessed through IV injection due to poor circulation of blood flow.

Such emergency situations include:

• Cardiac arrest
• Electrocution
• Stroke
• Complications during childbirth
• Insulin shock

This injection route is the fastest way to distribute blood supply, medications, or fluids during an emergency to increase the patient’s rate of survival.

Benefits of In-Home Injections

Infants, elderly, and injured patients are few of the groups that would benefit the most from in-home injections. Receiving assistance at home from a professional nurse puts your mind at ease, knowing that you are being provided with a safe procedure.  

There are various advantages of getting home injections such as:

• No more time and energy wasted

Waiting in line at healthcare facilities can take up hours, be it on weekdays or weekends. Most patients have booked their regular appointments much earlier, making walk-ins a frustrating game. There are times when the doctors and nurses may not be present to attend to your needs immediately, which can cause your patience to wear thin. Not forgetting that we too have our own list of errands to focus on.

Getting injections at home saves ample of your valuable time. Availability can be arranged accordingly to fit your preferred timings, so that your healthcare provider can plan their schedule ahead of time and be ready for your session. 

• Comfortable and economically convenient

Accommodating our patients’ backgrounds embodies quality and affordable healthcare. Not everyone lives nearby hospitals or clinics. Taking public transportation and e-hailing rides cost you the two-trip worth of expenses (and again, hours of waiting). With the news reporting heavy congestion in Malaysian urban cities daily, being stuck in traffic will only increase your fuel consumption. 

With in-home injections, you no longer have to endure unnecessary trips and costly travel expenses just to acquire healthcare. The only waiting you have to do is get a call from the assigned nurse once they arrive, and medical assistance will be done instantly in the comfort of your own home—makes your money worth every ringgit.

• Hassle-free for the old and the young 

Mobility issues are one of the many struggles endured by our ageing family members. Combined with stooped posture and back pain, they are not capable of standing, sitting or walking for a long period of time. This makes going to medical appointments not only causing anxiety but also physically painful. 

Babies and infants can also benefit from in-home injections. This age group usually requires regular vaccines to strengthen their developing immune system, so that they are well protected against diseases. However, administering injections to the young ones can be challenging due to fear of needles and the associated pain. Keeping them to stay still is another difficult task as their body tends to squirm constantly.

With the option of getting injections done at home, most of this distress can be lifted. Our seniors get to rest immediately after the procedure, while parents and the healthcare provider are able to keep the children relaxed more easily within a familiar environment. 

• Establish privacy and personal attention

Being in a public clinical setting, such as hospitals and clinics, can be intimidating for certain patients. With plenty of healthcare staff around, we might feel slightly uncomfortable unveiling our bare arms or other body areas for injection purposes. There is also little time for a one-to-one consultation with the doctor, as these sessions are often completed in a rush to make way for the next waiting patients.

At home, nurses can direct all of their attention to you alone. It allows them to take the time to perform the injection procedure more cautiously, instead of just for the sake of getting things done. If clarification is needed, they can attend to your doubts and questions before leaving. 

• Less risk of hospital infection

Despite the gradual decline in Covid-19 and Influenza cases, avoiding the crowd and public areas remains a practice among Malaysians. The common worry is having direct contact with germs in public facilities—mainly toilets, wheelchairs, pens on the counters, and door handles. Keeping in mind that you are also sharing a space with other patients who may be disease carriers.  

In-home injections help to promote safe injection services. By minimising close contact, the infection of bacteria and viruses can be reduced. Even if you get infected, it is much easier to contain the pathogens because the spread is only limited to your home only. 

• Comprehensive assessment and customised care plan

Home nursing provides more than just administering injections. By personally visiting your home, nurses or other healthcare providers are able to take into account other aspects, like lifestyle and eating habits, that may be helpful to improve your general health. 

They get to identify possible causes that lead to the need for injections and from there, advise on care plans tailored to your specific health conditions.  

• Easy on the caregivers 

As a family caregiver, accompanying our loved ones to their appointments is a common routine. This often involves dashing out of office amidst working hours, as well as driving to and fro the hospital. There are times you are occupied with other responsibilities to keep up with routine injections.  

Many healthcare centres have started to include home-based visits and injections as part of their range of services. In fact, the government has initiated a home vaccination programme to ensure elderly receive their booster doses of Covid-19. 

Getting Injections at Home with Homage

Not every patient-and-caregiver is equipped with the proper knowledge to administer injections at home by themselves. If you worry about adjusting the appropriate doses and following safe techniques, reaching out to home care centres that provide professional home nursing can come in handy. 

Homage offers affordable nursing care that includes various injection services. If you are considering engaging our trained and experienced nurses to assist you, enquire for a home nurse here.