The syringe

 The syringe

Perhaps among the gadgets used by clinics / physicians, the most well-known item is ‘The Syringe’. Irrespective of one’s age, the item simultaneously raises attraction and ‘fear’ of prick. Most children seldom  aver the visit to a clinic, because their mothers have frequently admonished them saying “I would ask the doctor to give you a shot in the hand, unless you eat food or do your homework or some similar duty of his/hers.  More than the act of prick by a needle, the thought of the prick is unnerving.

Leaving aside the issue of the fear component, one has to realize the need and value of ‘injections’ as a route to faster recovery.   The purpose of any treatment is restoration of normal health and wellness. Being so, the need to administer an injection is based on certain critical requirements. Drug delivery can take an oral route or vascular path [the blood stream]. Either would reach the metabolic stream and get to the ‘site of action’. An item eaten would take time before it is digested and delivered to the blood stream. Instead if the drug can be directly fed through the blood stream, the ‘uptake’ would be quicker and the drug action would begin soon to alleviate the patient, of the suffering. That explains the relevance of the gadget- ‘the syringe’.    However, the magnitude of the requirement demands variation in dimension among syringes for appropriate need. Before the metric system was adopted, calibrations in syringes were in cubic centimeters [ cc ] However, cubic centimeter[cc]  and milliliter [ml] measure the  same volume

In fact, syringes ranging from 0.3 ml to3 ml and at the other extreme 60.0 ml. are used.  There are those with 1.0 ml capacity intended for use, by diabetics and those of tuberculosis on daily medication.

The size prescriptions in ml refer to the capacity to hold the liquid or fluid and this feature is termed ‘barrel ‘ size or capacity ; it is the larger cylinder holding the liquid and the barrel has precise markings to reveal  the quantum released / held .

The function of delivering the liquid is done by a smooth-sliding cylinder –the plunger which fits nearly snug into the barrel; the plunger sliding through the barrel expels the liquid in a volume proportional to the inward thrust of plunger. It ensures a steady air-free stream of liquid as intramuscular/ intravenous medication.

However, the most critical part in a syringe is the needle, a thin metallic tube with an internal canal facilitating drug output. Necessarily varied needles, big / small are a part of the physician’s armour. The right needle for a job was chosen and used., when syringes were reused  by sterilizing them

The earlier custom of sterilizing the injecting kit by thorough boiling of the varied parts of a hypodermic syringe has been disbanded. The then syringes were made of glass and could be sterilized over and over several times. Most popular among them were ‘Pyrex’, ‘Borosil’ and later ‘Glass van’. All of them were high quality materials of precision in drug delivery and would stand boiling water sterilization. Now the scenario is different with ‘Disposable syringes’ made of polypropylene

With disposable item each patient is injected using a pre-sterilized outfit eliminating any scope of patient-patient transfer of body fluids /infected blood etc. Such one-time syringes are made of polypropylene and factory sterilized and hermetically sealed . However, the daily load of hospital waste by way of used syringes is another environmental issue to address and contend with.

Also, the earlier practice of physician’s personal care in administering injections to patients has literally come to an end. Such medical attentions are handled by ‘paramedics’ who have school level education and a certificate in nursing.

 The culture of one-person, one-syringe is a safe strategy that precludes scope of cross infection.

In all situations, the medicine in syringe is expelled to drive out any air- a potential hazard of pumping air into vascular stream –an avoidable error.

In our own times, we witness changes largely from technology and equipment to monitor patient’s  health status round the clock.  

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