Visible hole in rubber stopper after fifth injection. Vial contaminated?

[T-Bone]

I've done 5 injections from this vial, after the last injection I noticed a small hole in the rubber stopper. The 4 times before that the stopper seemed to seal up completely. I use a 22g needle to draw.

Is this normal or is the vial possibly contaminated now?

It's a Pfizer 10ml vial, I'm supposed to take 5 more shots from it before getting the refill.
Hoping I don't have to go back to the pharmacy. They treated me like this was a prescription for heroin the last time I was there.

 

[mooseman109]

I do mot see a problem. That rubber is thicker than you think. But, i stopped usimg th elarger needles to draw up for that reason. Also i dont poke in the same spot each time

 

[Vince]

There should be no issue with the small hole. I do daily injections and I actually try to reinsert the needle in the same spot every time.

 

[Vince Carter]

I do daily shots on a 5mL vial that lasts me about 60 days so that's 60 punctures and I'm not having a problem; 29g.

 

[madman]

I started TRT a month ago. I've done 5 injections, after the last injection I noticed a small hole in the rubber stopper. The 4 times before that the stopper seemed to seal up completely. I use a 22g needle to draw.

Is this normal or is the vial possibly contaminated now?

It's a Pfizer 10ml vial, I'm supposed to take 5 more shots from it before getting the refill.
Hoping I don't have to go back to the pharmacy. They treated me like this was a prescription for heroin the last time I was there.

I would not worry.....if anything why are you drawing with a 22 gauge (although it may be quicker) as it will be more prone to leaving a bigger hole in the neoprene rubber compared to using a fixed insulin syringe 27-31 gauge.

Even though you are only drawing once weekly (god forbid one was drawing daily or EOD with a 22 gauge) you would be better off switching over to using a fixed insulin syringe (draw/inject) with the same needle.....less waste and you eliminate the 2 step plus switching out needle if you are injecting with a different gauge.

 

[blackebob]

That looks like the same bump. Turn it upside down does it leek? No.

And find a new pharmacy.

 

[T-Bone]

Thanks for the replies.
I wasn't sure if the rubber stopper is supposed to seal up completely.
Didn't notice any holes until now.

It's not leaking and no signs of rubber inside the vial.

I have some 25g needles i'll switch to for drawing. I've been injecting with a 23g 1" needle (on BD 3ml syringe).
For some reason the plunger is slow to go down even with that gauge.
@madman
Do you know any good Canadian sites for insulin syringes?