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.

Prefilled Syringes are a Great Choice

Medical facilities are finding that prefilled syringes remain some of the best choices for assisting their medical staff. There are several medical supply companies who offer everything from a saline syringe or an insulin syringe to a heparin syringe prefilled with an accurate amount of medication to reduce overfilling and improper dosage being used.

In addition to aiding in these concerns, you will find that there are other benefits that can be found. For example, patients are able to be provided with high speed care, since these syringes are ready to go. This reduces the delay of care, while keeping nursing staff safer, since there is a decrease in the risk of being stuck by a needle.
Contamination concerns are also reduced, as there is a minimized risk for microbial contamination. That means patients receive accurate dosing, without an increased risk of infection to stem from the use of these needles.

Perhaps this is a reason why more medical facilities are looking into the prefilled syringes than ever before. This therapy tool cuts down dosage costs and maximizes the overall number of dosages that a single supply will be able to provide in a medical facility.

It is important that when you are considering these syringes that you do pick them up from a medical facility that is known for excellence. This will ensure that only the highest quality medications are being used, with the best quality disposable medical supplies.

Keep in mind that when you use any of these prefilled syringes, that they will not be reusable. They are designed to be used a single time and after that, a new syringe will be needed for administering a new medication. This does increase the costs of medical administration slightly, but with a reduction in waste and overfilling, you should find that they help to offset the costs your facility encounters. In fact, since there will no longer be a need for a vial to draw up the medication, you have already reduced some of the waste and there is less of a chance of a patient experiencing air bubbles, or receiving too high or low of a dose of the medication you are administering.

Overall, this does allow for medication to be administered easier, while helping to reduce the risks and dangers that can be traditionally associated with syringe administration. Just make sure that you do closely guard these prefilled syringes. While vials can be locked up easier in a cabinet, the syringes will need to be placed in a unique location that may not be as convenient and due to their nature; they should be handled as little as possible to reduce breakage or possible abuse.