Heparin Syringe Medical Usages

Heparin is categorized as an injectable anticoagulant. This medication is used to decrease the bloods ability to clot. This helps prevent the harmful formation of clots in the blood vessels. A lot of times, you will hear this medication referred to as a blood thinner. Heparin does not actually thin the blood or dissolve clots that are already formed, but it can help prevent the present clots from getting larger and stop further clots from forming. Heparin can be given by intravenous route or by subcutaneous route, such as heparin syringes.

Depending on the policies and protocols of a facility, Heparin solution may be used to flush the IV catheters. This is done in order to keep the catheter site clear and free flowing. Flushing the site routinely will cut down on having to restart IV's unnecessarily and will help prevent infiltration of IV sites because of occlusions. This provides for patient comfort and decreases the risk of infections.

Posiflush Heparin Syringes are prefilled heparin syringes. They are available in 2 sizes, 3ml fill in a 10ml diameter, 10 unit BD Posiflush heparin lock flush syringe and a 3ml fill in a 10ml diameter, 100 unit BD Posiflush heparin lock flush syringe. These are also available in a 5ml size. The prefilled syringes are latex free and have clear labeling. These are convenient, reliable, and cost effective alternatives to the vial-based systems. The use of the BD Posiflush Heparin Syringes will strengthen your IV catheter care procedures. The syringes come 30/box.

The use of the prefilled syringes are designed to help reduce the risk of medication errors, reduce disposal costs and decrease the risk of catheter damage. The syringe has a greater visibility of the contents and are color and bar coded for easy identification. The syringes are also designed so that the solution cannot enter a non-sterile area of the syringe.

Heparin comes in different strength solutions. Very serious errors have occurred when the wrong strength was used. Always check and double check that the correct strength is being used before the medication is injected. Even though it is unlikely when being used for a catheter flush, this medication can cause bleeding if it has too much effect on your blood. If any signs of bleeding are noted, such as bleeding of the gums, prolonged bleeding from cuts, nosebleeds, unusual pain or swelling, unusual bruising, black stools, dark urine, severe headache, or unusual dizziness, the physician should be contacted immediately.

The use of Posiflush Heparin Syringes will cut down on the amount of medical waste as well. The prefilled syringes will make the life of the nurses easier by providing an easy, convenient and dependable course for the treatment of the IV catheter sites. Due to the decreased time spent restarting IV sites, the nurses will be able to spend more time on other important patient care procedures.