In movies and TV you see heroin users insert a needle, pull blood out, and then inject. 1. Is that how people really do it, and 2 why do they mix blood first?

Question

In movies and TV you see heroin users insert a needle, pull blood out, and then inject. 1. Is that how people really do it, and 2 why do they mix blood first?

In: Biology

Answer 1

It’s called aspirating, you’re checking to make sure you’re in a vein. Nurses used to do this too, but current best practices actually recommend not aspirating (the slight benefit is outweighed by the slightly higher chance of causing damage by moving the needle around).