Because you need big needles to inject steroids, there is often a bit of bleeding when you remove the needle. While there is no harm in touching your own blood, it is important to clean up your blood and ensure no one else comes in contact with it. Even microscopic (invisible) amounts of blood can carry blood borne viruses (BBVs), which damage your body over many years. Injecting other people is also dangerous for this reason.
If there is blood visible after injecting, apply pressure with a clean tissue or cotton wool for a few minutes. Any swelling, redness or itching should quickly subside. If it doesn’t, seek medical help. Avoid putting an alcohol swab on it.
Everything you have used in the injection – needles, syringes, swabs and empty ampoules or vials should be placed in the sharps disposal container and returned to a needle and syringe program (NSP) for safe disposal.
Wash your hands and the injection area on your body with soap and water.
You also need to clean down the space around you. Use soap and water or alcohol swabs to wipe down any surfaces where you have had equipment or where your blood may have touched.
If you think you could have come into contact with someone else’s blood in the past, you should ask a doctor to test for BBVs. Even if you know the person well and they are healthy, they could still have a BBV. Many of the symptoms of BBVs do not show up for many years, by which time they can already cause significant damage to your body.
References
Exchange Supplies. (2016). Injecting Anabolic Steroids. Available from Exchange Supplies: https://www.exchangesupplies.org/pdf/A27.pdf