Using Your Medications Safely

Clean hands help prevent germs from entering injection sites, eyes, medication containers, and irritated skin.

1. 1Wet your hands with clean running water.
2. 2Apply soap and scrub your palms, backs of hands, between fingers, and under nails for at least 20 seconds.
3. 3Rinse well and dry with a clean towel.
4. 4Wash before preparing or administering medication and afterward.

1. 1Wash and dry your hands.
2. 2Remove the previous patch when directed before applying its replacement.
3. 3Choose a clean, dry, intact area approved in the product instructions. Rotate sites.
4. 4Avoid irritated skin and areas with lotion, oil, or powder.
5. 5Open the package without damaging the patch. Remove the backing without touching the adhesive.
6. 6Press firmly for the time specified in the instructions.
7. 7Record the application date, time, and location.
8. 8Fold a used patch with its sticky sides together and follow the medication's disposal instructions.

A subcutaneous injection delivers medication into the fatty layer beneath the skin.

1. 1Check the medication, concentration, prescribed dose, and injection device.
2. 2Wash your hands and gather your supplies, including a sharps container.
3. 3Inspect the medication. Do not use it if it looks different from the product's expected appearance.
4. 4If using a vial, clean its rubber stopper with alcohol and let it dry. Draw up the dose exactly as taught.
5. 5Choose an approved site, commonly the abdomen or thigh. Stay at least 2 inches from the belly button.
6. 6Rotate sites and avoid bruised, scarred, swollen, infected, or irritated skin.
7. 7Clean the site with alcohol and let it air-dry.
8. 8For a syringe, pinch the skin and insert at the angle taught by your clinician — often 90 degrees, sometimes 45 degrees. For a pen, follow its device instructions.
9. 9Inject as instructed, then remove the needle. Apply gentle pressure if needed.
10. 10Immediately place used needles and syringes into a sharps container. Do not recap or reuse them.

An intramuscular injection delivers medication into a muscle.

1. 1Wash your hands and prepare the prescribed medication using the technique taught.
2. 2Identify the exact muscle location demonstrated by your clinician. Do not guess.
3. 3Clean the site with alcohol and let it dry.
4. 4Relax the muscle and hold the skin as instructed.
5. 5Insert the needle at a 90-degree angle.
6. 6Administer the medication using the medication-specific technique.
7. 7Withdraw the needle and apply gentle pressure with clean gauze.
8. 8Dispose of the needle and syringe immediately in a sharps container.

Steroid creams reduce inflammation in certain skin conditions.

1. 1Wash your hands and gently clean and dry the treatment area.
2. 2Apply a thin layer to the affected skin using the amount prescribed.
3. 3Gently spread it over the area.
4. 4Wash your hands afterward unless your hands are being treated.

"Sublingual" means under the tongue.

1. 1Wash and dry your hands.
2. 2Place the prescribed dose under your tongue.
3. 3Let it dissolve as directed. Do not chew or swallow it whole unless the product instructions say otherwise.
4. 4Avoid eating or drinking while it dissolves. Follow any additional waiting period on the label.

1. 1Check the dose and whether it should be taken with food or on an empty stomach.
2. 2Sit or stand upright.
3. 3Swallow with the amount of water specified on the label.
4. 4Follow any directions about remaining upright or separating it from food, supplements, or other medications.

1. 1Wash your hands. Remove contact lenses if instructed.
2. 2Shake the bottle only if the label directs you to.
3. 3Tilt your head back and gently pull down the lower eyelid to create a pocket.
4. 4Hold the bottle above the eye without touching the tip to your eye, eyelashes, fingers, or other surfaces.
5. 5Place the prescribed drop into the pocket.
6. 6Gently close your eye without squeezing. Apply light pressure at the inner corner near the nose for the instructed time.
7. 7Wipe away excess liquid with a clean tissue and replace the cap.

These steps apply to many routine nasal sprays. Emergency sprays and some specialty products have different instructions.

1. 1Wash your hands.
2. 2Gently blow your nose if the product instructions allow.
3. 3Shake and prime the device only as directed.
4. 4Keep your head upright or slightly forward.
5. 5Place the tip just inside one nostril.
6. 6Aim toward the outer wall of the nostril, away from the center dividing wall.
7. 7Deliver the prescribed number of sprays. Breathe in gently if directed; do not sniff forcefully.
8. 8Repeat in the other nostril only if prescribed.
9. 9Clean the nozzle as directed and replace the cap.

1. 1Wash your hands.
2. 2Gently clean and dry the area unless instructed otherwise.
3. 3Apply the prescribed amount in a thin, even layer.
4. 4Keep it away from eyes, mouth, genital tissue, and broken skin unless prescribed for that area.
5. 5Let it settle before dressing. Cover only if instructed.
6. 6Close the container and wash your hands unless treating your hands.

For bimatoprost 0.03% prescribed for eyelash growth:

1. 1Wash your hands and cleanse your face. Remove makeup and contact lenses.
2. 2Place one drop on the supplied sterile applicator.
3. 3Brush carefully along the upper eyelid skin at the base of the eyelashes.
4. 4Blot away excess medication to prevent it from spreading onto nearby skin.
5. 5Discard the applicator.
6. 6Use a new sterile applicator for the other eye.

A small-area test can help identify irritation or a delayed skin reaction before broader use. It cannot guarantee that a product will not cause an allergy.

1. 1Apply the usual amount to a small area, such as the inner arm.
2. 2Follow the product's directions, including rinsing it off if it is a wash-off product.
3. 3Repeat twice daily for 7–10 days, unless the product's directions advise otherwise.
4. 4Watch for itching, swelling, redness, burning, bumps, or blistering.
5. 5If a reaction develops, wash it off, stop using it, and contact your clinician if symptoms persist.

Stop using the suspected product and contact your clinician for a new itchy rash, hives, swelling, blistering, or persistent irritation. Reactions can occur immediately or develop later. Burning alone may reflect irritation rather than allergy, but it still deserves attention if severe or persistent.