Hypodermic Needles

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A hypodermic needle is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to inject substances into the body. They may also be used to take liquid samples from the body, for example taking blood from veins.

Why is it needed?

The need of a hypodermic needle arises when the substance/treatment may not be absorbed by the digestive system or if the substance needs to be instantly delivered into the body. The needle can be used for subcutaneous injection, intra muscular injection, or intravenous injection. Hypodermic needles are also used for injection into joints (intra-articular injection), CSF (spinal injection) or into the skin itself (intradermal injection).

Single use needle

All hypodermic needles used present day are meant for single use as they are difficult to decontaminate and need to be sharpened before reuse. Hence all hypodermic needles are disposable. Further re-using or sharing needles may lead to blood-borne diseases including AIDS and hepatitis C.

These needles are normally made of stainless steel, the end of the needle is bevelled to create a sharp pointed tip for easier penetration.

Needle size

The size of a needle is stated as a gauge that is the outside diameter of the needle. The length of the needle is stated on the packaging and its gauge is often indicated by the colour of the plastic connector. For any given gauge, various needle lengths are available .