The Nurses Corner, all about vitamin B12 injections

  1. How do you know if you have MTHFR mutation that causes B12 deficiency?

    MTHFR (or methylenetrahydrofolate reluctase, if you want the complicated version!) is a type of gene that helps produce the MTHFR enzyme. This enzyme is responsible for breaking down a common amino acid found within our blood - homocysteine.

    MTHFR mutations can lead to the enzyme’s inability to effectively break down homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine within the body can lead to a number of health issues, such as vitamin B12 deficiency and heart disease

    This means it’s sometimes recommended that people undergo testing to see whether they have a MTHFR mutation. The test is usually ordered by a doctor when it is discovered that a patient:

    • Has elevated homocysteine levels
    • Has a family history of conditions relating to the heart and blood, such as cardiovascular disease or thrombosis
    • Has a close rel
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  2. How to inject vitamin B12 in your arm

    Instructions to inject vitamin B12 into your arm

    B-12 injections are often given in the arm and especially, in medical terms, the deltoid part of the shoulder.
     
    See the image for the exact spot

    The name for injections in this area are called “intramuscular” because the needle must penetrate the muscle to deliver your vitamin B-12 so that it is quickly delivered where your body needs it.

    fitness woman showing armWhy many people and doctors choose the deltoid part of the shoulder to give intramuscular injections is because there is less fat tissue there than in other areas such as the buttocks and hips.

    This makes it easier to ensure your B12 gets right into the muscle and not into the fat or lost somewhere in between.

    Proper training is very

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  3. How to inject vitamin B12 into your belly

    If you need guidelines, or plan on injecting B-12 into your belly area, here’s how to do it.

    Well, injecting into the belly area is a simple and basically painless procedure, so it isn’t much to worry about in that regard. Just follow the correct steps and you’ll do just fine. The Abdomen is an easy place for most people to access when self-injecting vitamin B-12, which is why it is a very common area for B-12 injections. The name for the method of injecting into the belly (abdomen) area is subcutaneous injection. It is named that because the B12 is delivered into the fat below your skin and above your muscle. See e

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  4. Helpful B12 Injecting Advice from a Retired RN

    Cautions and Tips for Proper Injecting

    nurse cartoon injection
    Throughout my many years as a nurse I picked up quite a few helpful tips to alleviate my patients anxieties and minimize their discomfort. I also self-inject and found these tips helpful for myself, so I wanted to share them with you.


    1. Take caution if you only use one needle to withdraw and inject your B-vitamins. Needle tips are very fragile, and they can easily be bent or dulled with just one use such as withdrawing your vitamins. The slightest bump to the side of an ampule or vial can damage the needle tip.

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  5. A Retired Registered Nurse about Vitamin B12 injections

    How to Inject Vitamin B

    grand canyon

    My Experience with B12 Injections

    I recall years ago in nursing school when my lab supervisor asked me to give her routine insulin shot. This would be my first actual injection that I would administer as a nurse in training, and I must say, at the time it was quite nerve racking. As a student of nursing, I had become

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