Myths
There are some myths about injecting that have been repeated so often that practically everyone believes them. We’ve exploded the ones we’ve heard of below - if you know of any more, let us know.

1. 'Air bubbles can cause a stroke'
The section on veins and arteries shows how, having been injected into a vein, the drug has to pass through the heart and then through the capillaries in the lungs before it can come back to the heart and be pumped up to your brain.

This means that air bubbles can’t get to your brain because they get stuck in the capillaries in your lungs. For air to do you any harm it has to be sufficient to cause frothing in the heart on its way through - much, much more than a 1mL syringe full.

Air bubbles contain bacteria, so don’t ignore them and inject big bubbles; on the other hand, don’t expose the needle to the air for ages (picking up bacteria) trying to tap out tiny air bubbles that seem welded to the side of the barrel.

2. 'Used fits that look clean are sterile'
This is not true - both bacteria and viruses are much too small to be seen by the naked eye. Infectious quantities of HIV and hepatitis can live in droplets of blood that are much smaller than the eye can see.

There is no way of being certain that used needles and syringes are free of infection.

3. ‘Dirty fits can be reused if you rinse them with boiling water’
Reusing injecting equipment is dangerous - even if it is your own, the needle will be more blunt and bacteria will be growing on it.

Flushing first with boiling or hot water can cause clotting of any blood it comes into contact with. This can cause a protective ‘skin’ to be formed over droplets of blood that then remain protected, warm and moist. Viruses and bacteria can then live, unharmed, in this protected droplet.

If you do use your fits again, clean them after each use and again before you reuse them. Mark them as yours and keep them safe so that other people can't use them.

4. ‘You can tell if someone has got HIV or hepatitis’
Of course you may be able to tell if someone is ill with HIV or hepatitis - they can become very serious diseases. However, both types of virus can live in the body for many years without causing visible illness.

5. ‘It is OK to reuse filters’
Filters collect infections - they are moist and usually warm. This makes them the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and are somewhere that hepatitis and HIV can survive for long periods of time. Sharing filters is probably a major cause of the spread of hepatitis C.

6. ‘We sleep together so we might as well share fits’
Sharing with your sexual partner exposes you to more risks: hepatitis C is probably not transmitted sexually, but it is highly infectious through injecting. Otherdiseases are also spread more easily through shared needles and syringes than unsafe sex.

TOP | PREVIOUS | INDEX | NEXT