Harm Reduction Services

Fixed needle/syringes

We provide a range of options of fixed needle syringes, including smaller barrel sizes 0.3/0.5 (see below). The most commonly accessed syringe is the 27g, 1ml syringe, which is suitable for the injection of heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs. We provide five different brands of these syringes, including Unisharp, Terumo, BD, Nipro, and Multigate. We recommend the Unisharp brand, as these are provided in a range of colours which can be useful in differentiating syringes in multi-occupancy houses.

💡 Quick tip: Always use your own equipment, and only use a syringe once. Once a syringe has been used, the needle becomes barbed, which will be detrimental to your veins.

Butterflies/ winged infusion set

Butterflies are a tip used for injecting larger quantities of drugs. A butterfly comes with a 25 gauge, 19mm needle, and soft flexible tubing. They fit on either the slip or lock barrel. They eliminate the need to use more than one syringe and injection site.

💡 Quick tip: Only use a butterfly once. As with all other syringes, needles and barrels, these are single-use and should not be reused.

Finer Syringes/lower mL fixed needle syringe

Generally speaking, the smaller and finer the needle, the less damage to your veins.

The NSP offers fixed needle syringes with finer and shorter tips.  These syringes are useful for minimising pain and bruising as well as reducing vein damage. BD Ultra-Fine is one of the shortest and thinnest needles available with a 30G, 8mm tip available fixed to a .5mL or 1mL barrel. For some people, finer, shorter needles work better than longer needles. Even for long-term injectors.

Speak to your local NSP for more advice about safer injecting.

💡 Quick tip: The smallest needle you can use effectively is the best option to reduce vein damage/scarring.

Syringe Barrels

The syringe barrels provided by Barwon Health are a slip or luer lock system to attach to the desired needle tip. They are available through all NSP and mobile outreach services in a wide range of sizes, these include:

• 1ml, slip and Luer lock
• 3ml, slip and Luer lock
• 5ml, slip and Luer lock
• 10ml, slip and Luer lock
• 20ml, slip and Luer lock
• 50ml slip

💡 Quick tip: It is important to dilute your drugs sufficiently to avoid pain, discomfort or vein damage, however, you should also be mindful of not injecting large volumes. If you do inject large volumes, be slow and patient and consider using winged infusion sets/butterflies.

Needle Tips

We offer a range of needle tips, from 30G to 19G. These needles provide a range of options for different injecting needs, such as injecting into deeper veins.

💡 Quick tip: Use a new sterile needle for every injection

Swabs

The two swabs we offer at our NSPs, alcohol-only, and alcohol and chlorhexidine are individual, single-use only. These swabs are used to clean the skin around the injection site and are crucial for performing the most sterile injection possible. Chlorhexidine removes more surface skin bacteria and as a result, is superior in cleansing the skin.

💡 Quick tip: Use as many swabs as you need, and use them in a single stroke only. Always let the skin fully dry before injecting, this drying ensures the skin is as clean as possible and prevents irritation when injecting.

Filters

A new sterile filter is needed for every injection. It reduces the transmission of bloodborne pathogens and removes particles that should not be injected. NSPs provide a range of filtering products, which remove both visible particles and with some filter devices, bacteria.

We provide the following filter products:

• Steri5 - A small, sterile, compressed pellet in blister packs of 5, these are effective at removing particles, but will not remove bacteria.  Click here to view a video that shows how to use the filters.
• Sterifilt - These slide onto the needle of fixed needle 1ml syringes and provide superior filtering compared to steri5.
• Sterifilt+ - These slide onto the needle of fixed-needle 1ml syringes and are one of the most effective filters we offer. These remove particles and bacteria.
• Wheel filters - Wheel filters are much larger and require different equipment to use. We offer two levels of wheel filter 0.45 and 0.22. The 0.22 is the finest filter we provide (Along with the Sterifilt+) and can filter particles and bacteria. These are more commonly used to filter tablets being prepared for injection. This video shows how to use these filters.

💡 Quick tip:  Never reuse your filters, or save them up and perform a wash – as they can harbour bacteria over time. Whilst it takes a little longer to filter your drugs, filtering should always be performed before every injection, as it is unknown what particles or bacteria might be present.

SteriCups/MaxiCups

Sterile cups are used to prepare drugs for injection. Using a new one every time, and always using your own will reduce transmission of HIV, Hepatitis C, and other infections.

SteriCup and MaxiCup are the two types of spoons we have available through the NSP.  The cups are made from aluminium and are individually packed with a Steri5 filter and a post-injection dry swab. Cups are single-use and come in two sizes. The SteriCup is used to prepare solutions up to 1.5mL, while the Maxicup is used for solutions up to 3.5mL. 

💡 Quick tip: Whilst these spoons are made from aluminium and are often described as 'cookers' it is very rare that drugs available in Australia need to be heated before injection. Heating drugs can introduce bacteria/particles which can be harmful to your veins/health. For more information speak to one of the harm reduction workers in our NSP.

Sterile water

Sterile water provided free through the NSP in a 10ml ampoule is a non-isotonic, preservative-free, ready-to-use, single-dose solution. Sterile water is mixed with powder or solid forms of drugs to convert the drugs into an injectable solution. A new sterile water ampoule is needed for every injection to prevent transmission of blood-borne pathogens and bacterial infection.

💡 Quick tip: Don’t keep opened ampoules of water for future injections. Once an ampoule of water has been opened it is no longer sterile. Discard and use a new ampoule for every injection.

Tourniquets

Single use

Barwon Health provides thin, pliable, latex-free, non-porous tourniquets. These single-person tourniquets are less likely to cause trauma to the veins than other commonly used ties such as belts, bandanas, condoms, wire, rope, or shoelaces. Made of thermoplastic elastomer, these tourniquets have the ability to stretch as required and return to their original length (18 inches long) upon removal.

Watch this video to learn how to tie a quick-release tourniquet knot.

Reusable Tourniquet

Barwon Health provides reusable tourniquets for easier use. These are soft, with a comfortable band to prevent skin tears and bruising, fast and easy to apply with a simple click buckle with slow and quick release mechanisms. Thumb grip for easy strap adjustment and latex-free. When it is difficult to find a vein, use a tourniquet. It is important to learn how to use a tourniquet safely. Always use your own tourniquet to reduce the risk of blood-borne pathogen transmission.

💡 Quick tip: Only use a tourniquet if you struggle to find a vein. Also, always remember to release your tourniquet before injecting.

Naloxone

Naloxone reverses overdoses and saves lives

Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly and temporarily reverses an opioid overdose. It attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. Naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose. But, naloxone has no effect on someone who does not have opioids in their system, and it is not a treatment for opioid use disorder. Examples of opioids include heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone (OxyContin^®), codeine, and morphine.

At the NSP, we can give out Naloxone in three formulations: 

• A nasal spray called Nyxoid
• A prefilled syringe for injection called Prenoxad
• Ampoules require a person to prepare and draw up the naloxone for injection