What Are Subcutaneous Injections?
Subcutaneous (subQ or SQ) injections are shots given in the fatty tissue layer (subcutaneous fat) under your skin. Your skin has many layers, and the subcutaneous layer is beneath the epidermis and dermis. To reach this layer, you’ll use a short needle to inject medication between your skin and muscle.
Subcutaneous vs. intramuscular injections
An intramuscular injection is a shot directly into your muscle, while a subcutaneous injection is one in the layer of fatty tissue between your skin and muscle.
Subcutaneous needle size
The needle used for this type of shot is usually small and short, ranging from ½ inch to ⅝ inch in length.
What Are Subcutaneous Injections Used For?
You can take many different medications using this method, including:
- Insulin
- Blood thinners
- Fertility drugs
- Epinephrine
- Pain medication
- Growth hormone
- Octreotide
- Mecasermin (insulin-like growth factor)
- Glucagon
Weight loss drugs
You may also use a subcutaneous injection to take weight loss drugs such as tirzepatide (Zepbound) and semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy).
Subcutaneous Injection Sites
There are certain areas of your body where you should use the needle during a subcutaneous injection:
- Stomach (except for one inch around your belly button), below your ribs, and above your hip bones. If you’re very thin, avoid this area.
- The outer part of your upper thigh
- The outer part of your upper arm, 3 inches or more below your shoulder and above your elbow
- Buttocks
Every time you give or get a shot, be sure to rotate to a new area. It should be 1 inch or more away from the last place where the needle went in. This helps the medicine to absorb properly and lowers the chance of bruising and pain. To remember where you had your last shot, put a small bandage over the area or mark it down on a calendar.
Always avoid areas that are:
- Discolored
- Swollen
- Scarred or hardened
- Bruised
- Burned
- Damaged (both the skin and beneath it)
What Supplies Do You Need for Subcutaneous Injections?
Here’s what you’ll need for the shot:
- Vial of medicine
- Sterile disposable syringe (empty or prefilled with medication) and needle
- Sterile water
- Rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs, or cotton balls
- Bandages
- Sharps container to dispose of used needles and syringes
- Injection record
How to Give Subcutaneous Injections
A subcutaneous injection involves some prep, giving the shot, and disposing of your supplies the right way. Here are the steps:
Preparing for the shot
- Wash your hands.
- Wipe the top of the medicine bottle with rubbing alcohol and cotton and let it dry.
- Choose the area where you’ll get the shot and clean it with rubbing alcohol and cotton.
- Open the syringe package and put it on a clean surface.
- Insert the needle into the vial.
- Pull back the plunger and draw up the prescribed dose of medicine, plus a little more. (Use the exact amount with an auto-injector or pen.)
- Take the needle out of the vial.
- Holding the needle vertically, gently tap the syringe to shift any air bubbles toward the needle.
- Gently push the plunger to squirt a small amount of medicine into the air and get rid of air bubbles.
Giving the shot
- Hold the syringe in your stronger (dominant) hand as you’d hold a pencil.
- Using the thumb and index finger of your weaker (non-dominant) hand, lift your skin into a fold.
- Insert the needle into your skin fold. (A 5-6 millimeter needle doesn’t require lifting the skin.)
- Slowly count to 10 while fully pushing the plunger in to inject the medicine.
- Remove the needle by pulling it straight out, and release your skin fold.
- Hold a piece of cotton or gauze where the needle went in for a few seconds, and use a bandage if needed.
- Record your shot on a calendar or chart.
Disposing of your supplies
- Discard your needle and syringe in a sharps bin.
- Once the bin is mostly full, find a local sharps collection station or use a sharps mailing service to dispose of your bin.
Subcutaneous injection angle
When giving the shot, insert the full length of the needle at a 45- to 90-degree angle into your skin fold. The sharp end of a needle is cut at a 45-degree angle. If you insert the needle with the angle facing up, the point will go into your skin first, making the shot less painful.
How to give someone else a subcutaneous injection
The steps above apply whether you give yourself a subcutaneous shot or one to someone else. If you’re giving your child a shot, you may want to use different techniques to distract them while it’s happening.
The thighs, buttocks, and stomach tend to be the best areas to give kids a subcutaneous injection since they have the most fat beneath the skin. As they get older, you may be able to also give them shots in the arm.
Understanding Subcutaneous Injection Dosing
Some syringes come prefilled with the correct dose of medicine. You may need to fill others from a vial. Be sure to read the label closely to make sure you’re taking the right medicine, the right dose, and that the medicine hasn’t expired.
Subcutaneous Injection Safety Considerations
To stay safe while getting this type of injection, follow these tips:
- Don’t reuse syringes on multiple people.
- Don’t reuse single-use medications on multiple people.
- Follow cleanliness and hygiene techniques when preparing injections.
How to store subcutaneous injections
Some subcutaneous injections need to be stored in the refrigerator. Check with your pharmacist about proper storage of your medication. Some refrigerated vials should reach room temperature before you use them.
Sharps Disposal
Disposing of needles the right way helps to protect yourself and others, like sanitation workers, from accidental needle sticks.
After using a needle and syringe, leave the cap off the needle and place everything in a sharps container. Keep pets and kids away from the container. When it’s three-quarters full, dispose of it at your local sharps collection station or use a sharps mailing service.
Sharps containers
You can buy a sharps container from a pharmacy or home health provider. Look for one that’s heavy plastic or metal, puncture-proof, and has a tight-fitting lid.
You can also use a coffee can, milk jug, or laundry detergent bottle. With a non-erasable marker, write “do not recycle” and “sharps” on the container.
Takeaways
A subcutaneous injection is a type of shot given in the fatty tissue layer under your skin called the subcutaneous layer. It allows insulin, blood thinners, fertility drugs, and other medications to absorb more slowly into your body, usually around 24 hours. You’ll get the shot in your stomach, the outer part of your upper thigh or upper arm, or buttocks.
Since the needle is small and short, you shouldn’t feel too much pain, but you may have some bruising where the needle went in. Avoid a subcutaneous shot in areas that are scarred, swollen, or discolored.
You’ll need several supplies to give the shot. These include the vial of medicine, a sterile syringe and needle, rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs or balls, a container to dispose of your needle and syringe, and other things.
Make sure to clean your hands, the top of the vial, and the area where you’ll give the shot. Insert the needle at a 45- or 90-degree angle into the subcutaneous layer to deliver the medicine. When you’re finished giving the shot, throw away the needle, syringe, and vial in a sharps container.
Subcutaneous Injection FAQs
How painful are subcutaneous injections?
The needle used for this type of injection is small and short, so you should have very little pain. But it’s possible that you’ll have minor pain and bruising where the needle went in.
What’s the least painful injection site?
Some parts of your body are more sensitive to pain because they have more nerve endings. You may find that a subcutaneous shot causes less pain in your outer thighs than your stomach.
Why avoid inner thigh injections?
Your inner thigh has a high concentration of nerves, making it more likely that you’ll have pain at the injection site.
Can you mess up a subcutaneous injection?
Serious injury from subcutaneous injection is rare. But there are several ways to give one incorrectly. If you fail to clean the injection site correctly, you could get an infection in the area. Injecting into a part of the body with many nerve endings can cause pain and swelling.
Can a subcutaneous injection hit a nerve?
It is possible to hit a nerve when giving a subcutaneous injection. To make this less likely, stick to areas of the body with fewer nerve endings, such as the outside or front of the thighs.
How long does a SubQ injection take to absorb?
Medicine given by subcutaneous injection usually absorbs more slowly into your body than those given by IV.
Do you have to pinch skin for a subcutaneous injection?
It’s not always necessary to pinch your skin for this type of shot, especially if you have a certain body type or use a shorter needle. Talk to your doctor about what’s best for you.
Why can’t I inject near my belly button?
The area around your navel, or belly button, is scar tissue from where your umbilical card was removed when you were born. Injections in this area can be more painful, and the hardness of the tissue keeps the medicine from being absorbed well.