First of all, you need to open the ampoule correctly. There are two types of ampoules according to the opening method:
- traditional ones, which require a notch on the neck;
- with a point where the glass cone is broken.
First you need to determine the type of ampoule. This is usually not written on the packaging. But a quick glance at the glass flask is enough to understand whether it is traditional or not.
The dot can be black, red or another color. If it is not on the neck, then to open it you need a special nail file, which is hidden under the top lid of the package. This file has the shape of a circle with a cut out segment, the edges of which are covered with abrasive material.
The sequence of opening the ampoule includes the following steps:
1) sawing is done with abrasive edges along one side of the neck;
2) without unnecessary effort, apply a nail file 3-4 times along the selected side of the ampoule;
3) then you need to moisten a cotton pad or ball in an antiseptic;
4) with one hand the base of the cone with the medicine is held, and the thumb and index fingers of the second hand grasp the protrusion of the ampoule;
5) to avoid injuring your fingers, cotton wool is used;
6) the break is made by a sharp movement of the hand in the direction opposite to where there is a cut.
This is the correct sequence for opening a medical ampoule. However, the nail file may get lost. Then a nail file from a cosmetic set or a piece of sandpaper will serve as a replacement. Be sure to wipe the cut area with alcohol or another antiseptic to prevent microorganisms from entering the preparation.
Some manufacturers produce more advanced solutions - with a marker. In this case, the opening process is simplified and includes the following steps:
- the cone marker is directed towards itself;
- The ampoule opens with a slight movement of the hand away from you.
In this case, there is no need to use cotton wool, since the risk of injury is minimal.
Then the drug is drawn into a syringe, air is released and an injection is made into the muscle. The injection site is disinfected before this. The solution is injected smoothly, after which the needle is removed and a cotton ball is applied in its place.
Sterile drugs for injection are usually available in ampoules - hermetically sealed glass containers. In order to draw the medicine into the syringe, you need to open the ampoule by breaking its upper tip. Usually, for these purposes, a special nail file is included with the ampoules, but what to do if it is not there?
How to open an ampoule without a nail file? If you received a set of ampoules without a nail file, the first thing you need to do is figure out what type of ampoules you got. There are ampoules that do not require a nail file to open. On the neck of such an ampoule there should be a mark in the form of a dot or a rim, indicating the break line. The glass from which the ampoule is made is thinner in this place, so the tip should break off without difficulty.
To open such an ampoule, the first thing you need to do is disinfect it at the break point. First, wipe it with a cotton wool soaked in medical alcohol, and then with dry sterile cotton wool so that the ampoule is not slippery. After this, wrap the top of the ampoule with sterile cotton wool and, with light pressure, break it off away from you.
Ampoules with a mark should be opened with a slight movement, so there is no need to use any additional tools (for example, pliers). When opening an ampoule using “force” methods, there is a high risk of crushing the glass, as a result the sterility of the drug will be compromised, and you may be injured by fragments.
If there is no mark on the ampoule, a special file (ampoule knife or ampoule scarifier) is needed to open it. Using this file, a notch is made on the ampoule, along which its top is broken off.
If there is no file (say, you bought one or two ampoules of medicine at the pharmacy instead of a whole package, and they didn’t give you a file), you can try to file the ampoule using available tools.
A metal nail file is best suited for these purposes. Disinfect the file with alcohol, press it to the neck of the ampoule at an angle of 45 degrees and carefully file the ampoule in a circle. Choose the location of the cut so that it is convenient to break off the tip, but it should not be too low.
After this, you need to repeat the same steps as when opening the ampoule with a mark: disinfect and carefully break off the tip along the cut line in the direction away from you, wrapping it with a cotton swab or napkin.
You can also use a kitchen knife to open the ampoule, although it is less suitable for this purpose than a manicure file. Using a sharp knife (pre-disinfected, of course), make several cuts in different directions at the intended location of the break, then proceed according to the standard pattern.
Using “artisanal” methods, it is better to wrap the ampoule with a cloth napkin or a thin towel instead of cotton wool: this will help to better protect yourself from fragments if the ampoule does burst. As with labeled ampoules, pliers, tongs, and other household tools should not be used to open the ampoule.
After breaking off the tip of the ampoule, be sure to ensure that no glass fragments get inside. Place the syringe needle into the opened ampoule and draw up the medicine by pulling the plunger. Make sure that the cut of the needle is always completely immersed in the solution, otherwise air bubbles will get into the syringe along with the medicine, which can cause an infiltrate (compaction) to appear at the injection site. Before making an injection, the needle must be replaced, as it could become dull on the walls of the ampoule.
The most important thing when opening an ampoule with a drug (especially with improvised means) is not to rush and be careful, then you will certainly succeed.
Attack of headache (tooth, stomach) pain. The cure for it has long been invented - an ampoule with an analgesic, a syringe - and in 10 minutes life will be filled with meaning again. But when we try to extract the drug, we may be in for an unpleasant surprise prepared by our local pharmaceutical companies - the ampoule may not be so easy to open. A few minutes of desperate struggle, curses addressed to the one who came up with all this, the crack of breaking glass, treating cut limbs with an antiseptic - and the road to a painless existence is clear. A situation familiar to almost everyone. These unpleasant moments can be avoided if you know how to open the ampoule.
The modern pharmaceutical industry offers several types of glass packaging for injectable drugs, which are opened in different ways.
History of the ampoule And it all started in the 19th century. Historians have differing opinions regarding the inventor of the ampoule. Some believe that the ancestor of the container was the Russian pharmacist A.V. Pel. Western experts give the palm to the Frenchman Stanislav Limousin. But the fact is that in the 80s of the last century, a glass vessel with a narrow elongated neck and a wide base was invented, intended for storing a sterile drug. The name of the container comes from the Greek word “amphora” - vessel. Until now, domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers produce injectable forms in ampoules that painfully resemble a 130-year-old “old lady.”
Glass ampoule without notch To successfully open a glass ampoule, you need to be armed with knowledge, apply strength and manual dexterity. A conscientious manufacturer must complete the packaging with the drug with a scarifier or a knife for ampoules. In this case, the buyer is lucky, and the algorithm of actions is standard:
- shake the ampoule;
- using a scarifier, file the neck of the ampoule, choosing the optimal distance from the top;
- wipe the cut area with alcohol;
- wrap the neck with cotton wool or a napkin and, in the “away from you” position, break off the sawn tip of the ampoule.
If, when trying to find a knife for ampoules, only disappointment awaits, then the situation becomes more complicated. To resolve it, you can, firstly, ask the pharmacist to find the scarifier in another package.
Secondly, use a nail file as an abrasive to open the ampoule, after wiping it with alcohol.
Well, for those who are not looking for easy ways, the third, most cruel option is to wrap the container with the treasured medicine in cotton wool and break off its top, leaving it to chance. If, as a result of the efforts expended, the glass fragments did not fall inside the container and scatter throughout the room, the first barrier has been overcome. All that remains is to open the ampoule without spilling the medicine and the blood of the future patient. If you succeeded, you can consider yourself a virtuoso.
Glass ampoule with notch According to European standards, ampoules must have a colored ring or break point. The glass at the break point is much thinner, and opening an ampoule with a point is not difficult. Having treated the ampoule with an antiseptic and armed with a napkin, you need to press on the notch and carefully break off the neck of the ampoule - that’s the whole algorithm.
Bottle of dry powder Some drugs are not stable in dissolved form and are available in powder form. If you are the proud owner of a bottle of dry powder, the task of opening it and extracting the medicine can turn into a puzzle.
First, you need a solvent. Most often this is water for injection, an anesthetic solution or an isotonic solution. Sometimes manufacturers produce it complete with the main drug. Otherwise, the solvent is purchased separately.
Secondly, you need a syringe.
Well, the process itself:
- You need to fill the syringe with the required volume of solvent (for clarification, read the instructions for the drug);
- remove the cap from the bottle (it can be metal, cut off with scissors or a knife, or plastic);
- under the top cover you will find the bottom, rubber one, which you should not forget to wipe with alcohol;
- pierce the rubber cap with a syringe needle and inject the solvent into the bottle;
- Shake the bottle thoroughly to make sure that all the drug has dissolved;
- draw the solution with the same syringe;
- change the needle on the syringe to a new, sterile one.
And stay healthy!
How to open an ampoule correctly? How to open an ampoule?
Injection ampoules have a specially applied marker: a colored dot on the top of the glass cone. Opening such ampoules is not difficult. It is only important to take the ampoule correctly in your hand: the marker should be facing you. Even without the use of protective equipment, the ampoule head easily breaks off with a sharp movement away from itself.
Some manufacturers still work on old equipment and injectable drugs are packaged in ancient-style ampoules, which do not have a special marker and, so to speak, a neck on the body. Such an ampoule must be opened using a special cutting plate inserted into the package. Using this simple device, a notch is made on the top of the ampoule and then everything is as in the first case: with a sharp movement away from you. The only caveat is that it is advisable to use a cotton pad or a piece of bandage here so as not to injure your hand when opening it, because If the cut was made poorly, glass fragments may form when broken off.
That's all the wisdom.
P.S. If the cutting blade is accidentally lost, a simple abrasive stone, which we usually use to sharpen kitchen knives, will help you open the ampoule.
The ampoule had a point but was stubborn, I made an injection from this ampoule, would the fragments get into circulatory system and won't they cause trouble?
I’ll tell you how I do this personally due to my profession. To do this, it is enough to have a small knife at hand - a file, which is usually included in the box with ampoule medications. True, very often I see that this same file is not in the boxes, and I don’t understand why, because before, in any box with medicinal ampoules there was always such a file, either on a cardboard base or metal. Nowadays, neither one nor the other is most often found in them, and I began to save them so that they could be used again. I know this for sure because my mother is a medical worker.
And you need to open the ampoule after preliminary filing, treating it with alcohol, and then it will easily break off. To do this, take a piece of cotton wool and break off the cut part; usually it breaks off very easily for me, sometimes even without the cotton wool it breaks off easily.
Now releasing ampoules with dot. There is already a notch near the point (or the glass in this place is much thinner than the glass of the ampoule itself), along which the spout of the ampoule will break. Therefore, the end of the ampoule is needed sharply break off from yourself at the point.
If there is no dot on the ampoule, then The ampoule needs to be filed on one's own. For this purpose, a special package is included metal plate(scarifier). Instead of a plate you can use knife, nail file, file, knife sharpening block and even sandpaper.
When I opened the ampoule for the first time in my life, I was able to do it only in a barbaric way. The ampoule was ordinary, with a long thin spout. There was no way I could break it off, so I just had to hit it with a knife, leaning the ampoule against the edge of the metal sink. True, the fragments still scattered outside the sink, but by some miracle not a drop of medicine spilled!
Progress does not stand still. In consumer society today, everything is aimed at making goods more convenient and easier to use. This also applies to the pharmaceutical industry. If just a few years ago ampoules were produced in solid form, which had to be filed with a special file placed in the package, then over time everything has changed. First, the files changed - they became more convenient and sharper, and today, in order to open the ampoule, you don’t have to file it. It's already filed. These ampoules have a dot or stripe on them. To open it, just press on the top of the ampoule and that’s it.
Look at it this way: if you bought a package of injection ampoules and there is a file in it, then you need to file the ampoules, and then take a cotton swab and break off the edge. If there is no file in the package with ampoules, then just take a cotton swab (so as not to injure yourself with a splinter) and break the top of the ampoule.
If there is no special file in the box with ampoules, then you can use a nail file, a small trihedral or diamond-shaped file. I have a lot of these and for my wife I gave one of these miniature ones with diamond chips for undivided use. Just file down the neck of the ampoule and you can take the cotton wool and break it off with a sharp movement. This is just in case, so as not to cut your fingers with broken glass.
I had to use a regular knife in the field. I simply held the ampoule tightly and struck the neck of the ampoule from top to bottom with a sharp blow of a hunting knife. But the sharpness of the blow is definitely needed here.
Now there are no problems with this, almost all ampoules are marked with either a dot or a strip; you press on it and there are no problems. And if you accidentally get a package without markings, then there must be a special plate inside.
The tip of my ampoule with (saline solution) crumbled.
Is it possible to draw saline solution from such an ampoule?
What will be the consequences if you give an injection into the physical muscle? solution from such an ampoule?
Almost all modern ampoules are produced with a special rim (red or white), just press lightly on it and the ampoule will open.
But, unfortunately, for some reason the domestic pharmaceutical industry still produces old-style ampoules; opening them is really difficult. True, they almost always put a special nail file in a box with ampoules - you need to file the neck of the ampoule with it, cover it with a napkin and carefully break it off. If there is no file, or it is lost, one doctor advised me to do this: take a faience plate, turn it over and move the ampoule on the rim (on which it stands), the effect is the same as from a file.
First, it is recommended to tap the top of the ampoule so that all the liquid passes through the neck of the ampoule. Then we place the napkin around the neck of the ampoule - it needs to be broken with a sharp movement away from you. A broken ampoule neck should be thrown away immediately.
When purchasing, check that the package should contain a strip of metal with rough edges and a knife for ampoules. If not, ask for one from another package :) Run the edge of a knife along the ampoule in the place where its spout rounds and meets the body, not necessarily with force, just so that a mark remains. Then take the body in one hand, the nose in the other and break it off.
I opened it quickly and easily. To open the ampoule, I took a towel and carefully and slowly broke off the top part towards me. Another option is that there are ampoules with an existing notch; opening them this way will be even easier.
Simply break off the excess part of the ampoule. To avoid getting hurt, take a towel.
An ampoule is a sealed glass container designed for storing liquid and powdered medicines. Since its main feature is tightness, it should be assumed that it is sealed on all sides and it is sometimes very difficult to get to its contents.
So, let's consider methods that answer the question: “How to open an ampoule without causing harm to yourself and others?” In addition, we will figure out what they are and what they are needed for.
How to open an ampoule with liquid medicine
As a rule, all glass containers for medicines are divided into 2 types: completely glass and those with a metal lid. In order to open the first variety, you must perform the following operations sequentially:
- Read the name of the medicine, Special attention attention should be paid to its expiration date.
- The container must be shaken so that the medicine all falls down and does not spill when depressurized.
- If the ampoule kit includes an item for filing (as a rule, it is an emery stick), you need to work it around the circumference in the narrowest part of the container, where the neck transitions to the ampoule itself.
- Take a piece of cotton wool or a paper napkin and break the neck away from you in order to avoid possible damage when the glass crumbles.
- Open the ampoule.
If the required nail file is not included with it, it can be replaced with such improvised means as or
How to open an ampoule with dry powder
If, after purchasing a box of the drug, you find that the medicine is a dry powder and the ampoule cap is iron, then in order to open it, you must do the following:
What other types of ampoules are there?
Recently, drug manufacturers have come up with a way to safely open ampoules without the help of foreign objects. In this case, there is no glass on the neck at the transition point to the bubble itself and the top can simply be broken off. But there are also unique ampoules that are sealed with aluminum, and sometimes opening them yourself is not so easy. For example, this is how Mexidol is packaged in ampoules. This medicine is used to improve blood supply to the brain, reduce general level cholesterol in blood vessels, and is also used as first aid for drug or alcohol intoxication, epilepsy and seizures.
As a rule, such ampoules are sold only medical institutions, and after use their quantity is taken into account. The same thing happens with all sealed packages containing narcotic substances.
Thus, the article found the answer to the question: “How to open an ampoule?” You should not use any other methods if they threaten the health of others and carry the possibility of changing the composition of the drug.
Sometimes it is necessary to give an injection at home. This may be an injection of vitamins, sedatives, or as prescribed by a doctor. It is not always possible to go to a clinic, where they know exactly how to open the ampoule and administer the drug. But how can you protect yourself from mistakes and not cause harm when injecting yourself at home?
How to open an ampoule correctly?
First of all, you need to open the ampoule correctly. There are two types of ampoules according to the opening method:
- traditional ones, which require a notch on the neck;
- with a point where the glass cone is broken.
First you need to determine the type of ampoule. This is usually not written on the packaging. But a quick glance at the glass flask is enough to understand whether it is traditional or not.
The dot can be black, red or another color. If it is not on the neck, then to open it you need a special nail file, which is hidden under the top lid of the package. This file has the shape of a circle with a cut out segment, the edges of which are covered with abrasive material.
The sequence of opening the ampoule includes the following steps:
1) sawing is done with abrasive edges along one side of the neck;
2) without unnecessary effort, apply a nail file 3-4 times along the selected side of the ampoule;
3) then you need to moisten a cotton pad or ball in an antiseptic;
4) with one hand the base of the cone with the medicine is held, and the thumb and index fingers of the second hand grasp the protrusion of the ampoule;
5) to avoid injuring your fingers, cotton wool is used;
6) the break is made by a sharp movement of the hand in the direction opposite to where there is a cut.
This is the correct sequence for opening a medical ampoule. However, the nail file may get lost. Then a nail file from a cosmetic set or a piece of sandpaper will serve as a replacement. Be sure to wipe the cut area with alcohol or another antiseptic to prevent microorganisms from entering the preparation.
The disease sometimes creeps up unexpectedly. The oral method of taking the medicine is less effective compared to intravenous or intramuscular injections. After all, speed active substances high in blood. It is not always possible to go to the hospital to get an injection. In this case, it is important to know how to carry out the manipulation yourself. And the first stage is important - to open the ampoule correctly.
Follow simple algorithm when opening the ampoule:- Read the instructions, pay attention to the expiration date of the medicine.
- Inspect the ampoule for integrity. Shake her because... it is important that the medicine sinks to the bottom.
- Next, soak a cotton swab in alcohol and open the ampoule. Wrap the container with the medicine in a napkin to prevent cuts. Using gentle pressure, break off the narrow end of the ampoule.
- Draw up the solution with a needle and syringe. It is advisable to change the injection needle.
- Take a nail file. And file it where the wide part transitions into the narrow part.
- Or use a knife to score the narrow end.
- If you don't have these tools at hand, try breaking the top part by pressing with your thumb. Be careful, this method is risky as the ampoule breaks easily.
Open the ampoule like this:
- Take a needle with a syringe, treat it with an antiseptic and draw up the solvent with it.
- First, open the cap of the dry powder ampoule. Wipe the rubber cap of the jar with an antiseptic. Pierce it with a needle and inject the solvent inside the ampoule.
- Shake the container well to obtain a homogenized solution.
- Change the needle and dial it up for subcutaneous injection.
- Insert the needle into the ampoule so that its cut is completely immersed in the solution.
- Do not touch the bottom of the ampoule with the tip of the needle if you do not intend to change it. Because it dulls it, which causes pain when injected under the skin.
- It is still advisable to change the needle after taking the medicine into the syringe. Opt for thinner needles for direct insertion under the skin.
- If there are air bubbles in the syringe, they should be removed to avoid lumps and bruises. Tap the syringe with your fingernail and press lightly on the plunger to release air.