Needles are available in various sizes. When it comes to purchasing needles, you need to pay attention to the gauge size.
As needles are used for most medical operations, it is essential to understand how gauge plays an important role in the selection of needles.
A gauge helps you to determine the size and the dimensions of the needle. Gauge is the part of the needle which fits inside the syringe.
So, you need to make sure the gauge of the needle is right for the size of the syringe or else. The needle will not properly lock in the syringe.
Safety syringes come in different gauge sizes. If you want to know what gauge is a safety needle, follow this guide.
What Is A Needle Gauge?
A needle gauge helps to measure the diameter of a needle or its open diameter. The gauge indicates the inside diameter of the needle or its open opening.
The needle gauge also refers to the internal dimension or opening of needles. It is necessary to measure gauge when using needles in medication manufacturing, as in the case of syringes and vials.
Gauge is the opposite part of the sharp needlepoint. It is the plastic hub at the other opening of the needle in which the syringe fits.
Different types of injections need different needle gauges. To ensure that the needle gauges are accurate, you need to check the information given on them.
Needles are available in gauge size from 17G to 34G. You will also get different types of needle gauges. However, these sizes are commonly used.
The thing about the needle gauge is that as it increases, the width of the needle decreases. There is an inverse relation between needle gauge and width.
What Gauge Is A Safety Needle?
Safety needle is different from the traditional needle. It comes with an extra safety feature to prevent injuries.
As these needles are different, you need to check the gauge size before selecting a safety needle. There are many variations of the safety needle gauge.
The most common version is the safety needle with 21G. It is mostly used for drawing blood. Here are some of the common gauge sizes in which safety needles are available.
- 16G: This needle comes with small gauge size. As the gauge size is small, the needle is thick. The width of the needle is 1.6mm. The length can be of any size between 8mm to 40mm.
- 18G: Needle with thing gauge size comes with 1.2mm width. As the size of the gauge keeps on increasing, the needle becomes thin.
- 19G: The width for this gauge size is 1.1mm.
- 20G: It comes with 0.9mm width. This size is perfect for intravenous injection.
- 21G: The width is 0.8mm.
- 22G: The width for this gauge size is 0.7mm. It is mostly used for intramuscular injections.
- 23G: The width for this gauge size is 0.6mm.
- 25G: It comes with 0.5mm width. As the needle is thin, it is mostly used for intradermal use.
- 26G: Here, the width decreases to 0.45mm. It is perfect for people who take insulin.
- 27G: The width for this gauge size is 0.4mm.
- 29G: It comes with 0.33mm width.
- 30G: As the needle has a bigger gauge, it is very thin. The width is only 0.3mm.
These are some of the common gauge sizes in which safety needles are available. You can get it for other sizes as well.