What happens if air gets into a vein? This question often arises among those who have been injected incorrectly. And this is no accident, because in many films and detective novels this method is often used by ruthless killers in relation to their victims. And watching how the negative hero takes a large syringe, raises the piston, pumps air into the vein and the hostage dies, the viewer involuntarily retains the information that such an injection is fatal.
What happens if air gets into a vein?
In medical practice, the process of air penetration into any artery, as well as the subsequent blocking of the blood flow going to the brain or heart, is called an air embolism. It is this pathological condition that is feared by those who have been accidentally injected with air into a vein. It should be noted that this can indeed be a fatal situation, since the bubble that has entered the vein begins to gradually move along the artery, and then enters the system of the smallest vessels,which are further narrowed to capillaries. In such a place, the air quickly stops the flow of blood to any vital area of the body.
Heart attack or stroke?
So what happens if air gets into a vein? According to doctors, an injured person can actually die from blocking an artery with air. In this case, we are talking about a cardiac embolism, which causes a rather life-threatening air coronary plug or the so-called heart attack. Similarly, an embolism in the brain causes a stroke. However, it is worth noting that the accidental entry of air into a vein in 99% does not cause death. Why? You can find a comprehensive answer to this question below.
Injection rules
What happens if air gets into a vein? This question arises in people not only because of films and detective novels, but also due to the fact that nurses try to carefully squeeze out all the bubbles from a syringe or dropper before an injection. Such caution of polyclinic workers involuntarily leads the patient to the idea that if air is introduced into a vein, something very terrible will certainly happen. However, it is not. Just such procedures are required for any type of injection. Firstly, if you do not remove all the bubbles, it will be quite problematic to inject the drug quickly and painlessly. Secondly, if air still gets in, then in the first minutes the patient will really feel “local” discomfort, calling the injection “sick”. But as practice shows, suchunpleasant symptoms disappear after a while.
It is for these reasons that nurses try to give intravenous, subcutaneous or intramuscular injections in all the rules. After all, few people will like a “sick” injection, after which it reduces the arm, leg or other parts of the body.
Air cube in a vein: deadly or not?
If you notice that during the injection small air bubbles entered your bloodstream, then you should not immediately panic - there will definitely not be a lethal outcome in such a situation. Moreover, it makes sense to worry about this only if an intravenous injection was made incorrectly, since the air that got into the muscle tissue or under the skin almost immediately dissolves in the cells, leaving no consequences, except perhaps short-term discomfort at the injection site.
As for intravenous injection, it all depends on the size of the bubble itself. If you let air into the vein quite a bit, then it will immediately dissolve in the cells of the body, as is the case with an intramuscular or subcutaneous injection. That is why the accidental entry of small bubbles into the body will not affect the patient's he alth in any way.
What dose of air when injected is life-threatening?
As mentioned above, during a conventional injection, only a minimum of air bubbles can accidentally enter the body, which will not affect the well-being of a person. As for the possible lethal outcome, for this it is necessarytry very hard. Indeed, according to experts, an air embolism will occur only if at least 200 ml of bubbles are injected into a vein. Only in this case, they will not be able to dissolve properly, which may well cause a stroke or heart attack.
Where is it particularly dangerous to inject air?
A little higher, we told you that air entering the body during intramuscular or subcutaneous injection does not threaten human life. Moreover, if a syringe with air was injected into a vein, then this is also not fatal. And it has nothing to do with the number of bubbles. After all, a fatal outcome will not occur due to accidental entry of air into any of the small veins. In this regard, it is advisable for best-selling authors to write about the ruthless killing of victims with large syringes and injections into the main artery. After all, this is the only way the patient may soon have a stroke or heart attack.
What traces are left?
Returning to detective novels, it should be noted that quite often the presented method of murder is chosen based on the fact that in the future forensic experts will not be able to identify the true cause of death of a person. But this is the same myth as the lethal outcome from one small “air” injection. The fact is that any specialist is able to almost immediately determine a recent injection, especially if it was made only with air. Indeed, after the death of a person, the injection site becomes very dark, and a light halo appears around it. As for the usual misplaced injection,then in this case, patients may later observe small bruises, as well as bumps or pustules. As a rule, hematomas at the injection site quickly resolve themselves. But if for some reason this did not happen, and the person begins to feel pain, his temperature rises, etc., then you should immediately consult a doctor, as it is likely that a serious infection has entered the wound.
How is air removed?
The injection rules are the same for everyone. That is why absolutely every medical worker is obliged to eliminate air from a medical device before an injection. And how exactly this is done, we will consider a little further.
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air injection into a vein From a syringe (for intramuscular, intravenous or subcutaneous injection). After taking the drug, the syringe is lifted vertically with the needle up, and then the nurse makes light clicks on its body, thereby knocking all the bubbles together (into one air pocket). Further, by slightly pressing the piston, the air is squeezed out. In this case, it is necessary to release some part of the drug, along with which all the remaining bubbles will leave.
- From droppers. Before putting the system on the patient, medical staff perform all the same actions as with a syringe before an injection. By the way, if the liquid in the dropper runs out before the nurse removes the needle from the patient's vein, then the air will not enter the human body anyway, since there simply is not enough pressure in the system for this.
- Fromcomplex medical devices. In such devices, where enough air can accumulate to be fatal, there are special filters that automatically remove absolutely all available bubbles.
When else can an air embolism occur?
Quite often, divers encounter such a pathological condition that threatens human life. This happens in situations where a professional diver runs out of air at great depths, and he tries to quickly ascend to the surface, while holding his breath. In this case, the air in the lungs begins to expand due to a decrease in pressure. As a result of this phenomenon, a rapid and rather strong filling of the internal respiratory organs with bubbles occurs, which in the end can lead to an instantaneous rupture of small sacs called alveoli. After that, air gradually enters all blood vessels, which ultimately leads to an air embolism, that is, a stroke or heart attack.
How to avoid?
What can you do to protect yourself from such fatal accidents? In a situation with divers, all rules for rising to the surface of the water should be observed. As for medicine, it is required to remove all air bubbles from syringes, droppers and other devices in advance.
