Best Way To Sterilize Implants

I thought I had lost my Firefly Tattoos in one of the various calamities that happened to my home but I just found them and am pretty happy about it! At first, I was considering just tossing them as they might have gotten soaked in water or been surrounded by sodden roof debris but, in checking on them, they both look pretty good. One was even still completely sealed inside the package and both seem pretty clean.

This made me think that they would still be worth implanting after proper sterilization. They are both in the needle that they came with and one is still in the package (for the moment) and I was just wondering what the best way to try and sterilize them would be?

Using Steam? Soaking them in Chlorhexidine? Both? Would the needles survive that? Or should I just get new needles anyways? Or should I just toss everything as doing otherwise would be too risky? Either way, I would like to hear opinions on the subject as well as on sterilization for implants and procedures in general, if anybody wants to make the thread about more than just my problem.

Comments

  • If I remember correctly, the injectors will survive a run through an autoclave. It will dull the edge but what's a little discomfort?
  • I'm going to start another thread regarding this.

  • edited May 2019

    Some people are overcautious, i just put it in sanitary alcohol for maybe 2 mins while preparing all the stuff and that was it.Been a year and i have no problems. Do it in a clean environment and you'll be okay.

  • @raeladir
    Not sure if caution can be overstated in the realm of self surgery..
  • Ok I don't have time to finish up what I started last time I read this. First off, alcohol? No. Just don't. It's not adequate. So this is like half done: http://augmentationlimitles.ipage.com/?page_id=296

    I have autoclaved the entire bag before containing the injector and it didn't melt on me. I can't vouch for any specific brands or anything though. If it's a different plastic it certainly could. Regarding the overcautious thing.. What a lot of people do is disinfect rather then sterilize. It isn't perfect but it usually works out for very items. The nice thing is that we're dealing with glass. The glass can be soaked in a 50/50 dilution of bleach and distilled water. Soak it for 20 minutes. Wash it off with distilled water and store in a little sterile saline prior to the procedure.

    The injector can be treated this way as well.. assuming it's new. As an RN, I teach people all the time about reusing needles. The short answer is.. don't do it. However, when youre dealing with a homeless population who aren't willing or able to get new needles.. you can soak needles as well. You'll need to draw and inject the bleach fluid in order to clear out the inside. It's not a great way to do things. The risk of spreading disease is minimized but not eliminated. Also, the needles tend to dull really quickly.. In my opinion, this kind of risk doesn't have a place amongst biohackers. Since your needles are new though, a 20 minute soak and flush should work just fine.

  • Also, I really intend to go into depth regarding autoclaves. I know it sounds expensive.. but you can get an autoclave for like 30 bucks... AKA a pressure cooker. The way they work is they increase pressure. An increased pressure means a higher boiling temp. Usually it's at around 15psi at 121c for 15 minutes. However, some claves go as high as 30psi. Only one model of instapot goes to 15psi. Most hover around 12 which is inadequate for our purposes.
    A cheap stovetop pressure cooker Is a great choice and learning to use it I believe is an important skill for biohackers.

  • On a side note, you know that indicator tape stuff? The ones that change color or show black stripes? Do you know what that indicates? Just temp. It doesn't mean that the stuffs sterile.. just that at some point it got up to the appropriate temp. It could have been for seconds instead of 15 minutes.

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