Glossary
Alcohol swab
Also called Alcohol pad, Alcohol prep pad, Isopropyl alcohol wipe
A single-use pad soaked in isopropyl alcohol, used to wipe a vial stopper or the skin before a shot.
In more detail
MedlinePlus instructs wiping the rubber top of the vial with an alcohol pad before drawing, and wiping the skin in a circle moving out from the spot you plan to inject, then letting it air dry. Letting it dry matters: wet alcohol stings and has not finished its job.
Use a fresh swab for each surface. One swab on the vial and a new one on the skin.
Why it matters
The rubber stopper is the one surface that every needle passes through. Swabbing it each time is cheap insurance for a vial you will draw from for weeks.
Related terms
- Sterile techniqueThe set of habits that keep germs out of a vial, syringe and injection site: clean hands, swabbed stoppers and skin, new needles, and never touching anything that should stay sterile.
- Subcutaneous injectionA shot into the fat layer just under the skin. It is the route most injectable peptides use, usually with a short, fine insulin needle.
- DrawPulling liquid from a vial into a syringe. To draw a dose is to measure the number of units you need on the syringe.
Sources
Each source is labeled by where the information comes from. How we label sources
- Reference workSubcutaneous (SQ) injections(opens in a new tab)
MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine) · checked
- Reference workDrawing medicine out of a vial(opens in a new tab)
MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine) · checked
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