Diabetes Type 1
The young people we talked to tell us what it is like to inject insulin every day, the problems they've had and how they've coped with them. Where and how to inject Young people are taught by specialist diabetes nurses and doctors how and where to inject. Arms, legs and the stomach are all parts of the body recommended for injection. Most people said that their preferred place was the stomach. But they also said that it's important to vary the place where they inject, over a wide area. They said that injecting in the same place can cause lumps or other changes, called hyperlipotrophy, to develop under the skin. Your healthcare team can teach you how to recognise these changes. Injecting into the areas that have developed this problem is usually completely painless but the insulin may then be absorbed unevenly, which makes blood sugar much harder to control. Some young people who were small children when diagnosed said that they have grown up with doing daily injections and thought it was normal. Other children were scared of needles at first and their parents had to inject them, to begin with. Young people have different opinions as to whether insulin injections hurt or not. Some said that the needles they use are so thin that they don't feel it, but others said it depends on how relaxed and comfortable they are at the time of the injection. Several young people commented that it's much easier and painless to do the injections themselves because they know their own body. Most young people said that it is down to practice and that 'practice makes it perfect'. The people we talked to said that doing their own injections made them feel in control and gave them a feeling of independence. Getting used to injecting everyday It could take a long time to get used to injecting e Continue reading >>
Choosing A Needle To Inject Insulin: What’s The Difference?
For a person with diabetes who is beginning insulin therapy, the range of products can be overwhelming. The options are often limited by the patient’s healthcare plan, however, and the initial selection of a product is frequently influenced by the healthcare provider. With diabetes education tailored to the individual patient, the delivery of insulin through a particular device is achieved by teaching proper injection technique and selecting an appropriate needle. Because people using insulin to manage their diabetes prefer a painless, easy-to-use, and affordable device, manufacturers have worked to improve the injection experience. Over the past 25 years, needle size has evolved from a 16-mm (length), 27-gauge (thickness) needle in 1985, to a 4-mm, 32-gauge needle in 2010. A shorter, thinner needle reduces pain and anxiety during insulin injection. But does this type of needle work as well as a bigger needle, especially in people with more body fat? One concern when using a thin, short needle is whether or not the tip of the needle actually gets through the skin to deliver the full dose of insulin into the fat layer. For a long time, skin thickness has been a factor in product selection. The tendency has been to choose a larger needle for larger patients, using the skin-pinch method of injection to prevent intramuscular administration and subsequent pain and variable glycemic control. Recently, a study was conducted using ultrasound to measure the skin thickness at four injection sites in 338 patients with diabetes. Patients ranged in age from 18 to 85 years, and their BMIs ranged from 19.4 to 64.5 kg/m2. Investigators found minimal variation in skin thickness according to age, gender, race, and body mass. Most patients had a skin thickness of less than 2.8 mm, with Continue reading >>
Tips For Comfortable Injections
Tips Massage or stroke your pet before the injection. This calms them and prevents them from being surprised by a needle stick. An extra minute or two of petting and relaxing may be all your pet needs to prepare for an injection. Many people use a food reward during or just after injection time. Giving the injection while the pet is busy eating is very common. Putting a small treat in front of your pet can help keep them still for an injection. Some people give a treat right after the injection. The pet is well behaved during the injection because it knows a treat is coming. Maybe a big hug and praise is all your pet needs. Warm the insulin before injecting. Human diabetics say that injecting cold insulin causes discomfort, and this is probably true for pets too. Room temperature insulin makes for a more comfortable injection. After filling the syringe with the proper amount of insulin, hold the syringe between your fingers for a minute. Some people take the entire vial of insulin out of the refrigerator and let it sit until it is room temperature. I prefer warm only the amount that is used for each injection, returning the insulin vial to the refrigerator as soon as possible.. DO NOT USE HOT WATER, A MICROWAVE, OR ANYTHING ELSE TO WARM THE INSULIN. Use your hands or let the syringe (or vial) sit on the table-top for a few minutes. When injecting, push the needle quickly and firmly through the skin. Going through the skin is the most sensitive time. Once the needle is through the skin the animal doesn't feel much. Inject the insulin at a moderate rate. Not too fast, but not too slow. This takes a little practice and your pet will let you know if you are doing it right. No alcohol wipes. Most people do not clean the injection site with alcohol before an injection. Alcoho Continue reading >>
What Are Some Of The Most Useful Ways People With Diabetes Can Prevent Themselves From Accidentally Missing Or Taking A Double Insulin Injection?
I echo what Brian Carey said about an insulin pump: it takes much of the onus of record-keeping off your plate. I've been type 1 for 50+ years now, steadily more and more well-controlled as I learned how to manage the disease, but since I went on the pump about 11 years ago, my control has gotten better than ever. If at all possible, given insurance and doctor's OK, I would urge you to consider this over an insulin pen. Some context: Lou Davis commented below that well-managed diabetics tend to be diligent about recording things such as blood sugar and insulin dosage and time given. I am an exception to that general rule. I never record anything. At one point in my life—decades after living with diabetes, say, maybe after 35 years, I decided that I got to choose how much time I spend charting these things. At the time when I gave up scribbling in all those ratty, blood-stained notebooks—none of which gave me sufficient space to enter meaningful context regarding activity or illness or food and hence were an endless source of frustration—I was taking extremely frequent blood sugar tests, was injecting via pen up to 7 or 8 times a day, and was very well controlled. My doctors don't like this, but they gave up arguing years ago. They deal by getting a read-out of my blood sugars from my meter. It's hard to argue with a stubborn diabetic who's got an A1C of 6.2 ( I've had it lower, but they talked me out of it, for fear of hypoglycemia) and who's survived for all these years. Now, about that pump. Here's how it saves you from multiple, redundant injections: As you might already know, an insulin pump delivers a steady trickle of fast-acting insulin throughout the day, as set in accordance with your body's fluctuating needs at various times of day. That's called your ba Continue reading >>
Should I Inject Insulin Into A Vein?
I am 20 years old and have type 1 diabetes. When I am off the insulin pump, my blood sugar gets unstable and can take more than 48 hours to go down. Two friends told me that to handle this, they just inject a very small amount of insulin directly into the bloodstream. I know it sounds crazy, but this would save me time and money. Is it safe? Continue reading >>
Insulin Injection Areas
Look at the dark pink areas on these pictures to find areas of the body where insulin is injected. Inject insulin into: The abdomen, but at least 2 in. (5.1 cm) inches from the belly button. The abdomen is the best place to inject insulin, because your abdomen area can absorb insulin most consistently. The top outer area of the thighs. Insulin usually is absorbed more slowly from this site, unless you exercise soon after injecting insulin into your legs. The upper outer area of the arms. The buttocks. Rotate the location of the injection, and slightly change the injection spot each time you inject insulin. Using the same spot every time can form bumps or pits in the skin. For example, inject your insulin above your belly button, then the next time use your upper thigh, then the next time below your belly button. Continue reading >>
Gestational Diabetes: How To Inject Insulin With A Syringe
When you have Gestational Diabetes, using insulin may become part of your management plan. You may be nervous about injecting insulin at first. Meet with your diabetes care team to go over the correct steps for injecting insulin with a syringe. Whether you are injecting a single dose or a mixed dose, the steps for injecting are the same. Insulin should be injected into fatty tissue. The recommended injection areas are: the abdomen or belly, the backs of the arms, the tops or sides of the thigh, and the buttocks or rear. With some insulins, where you inject on your body can make a difference in how fast the insulin will go to work, or its onset. Work with your diabetes care team to find the injection area that is best for you. Try to use the same area at the same time every day but you should change the actual injection site each time you inject. This helps keep your skin and underlying tissues healthy. When injecting into your abdomen, make sure to stay 2 inches away from any scar tissue or your navel. Once you have selected an injection site, wipe the skin with alcohol and wait a few seconds for it to dry. Inject at a 90-degree angle. Press the syringe plunger firmly and smoothly. When using shorter needles, you may need to leave the needle in the skin for a few seconds for the best absorption. Then pull the needle straight out. After taking the injection, drop the syringe needle into a Sharps container, which you can get at your diabetes product supplier. If you don’t have a Sharps container, a heavy plastic bottle with a tight-fitting lid clearly labeled that it contains medical waste will work, too. In some areas, you are asked not to put filled sharps containers in your regular trash for collection. Your diabetes care team can tell you if your community has a spe Continue reading >>
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Injecting Insulin
Tweet Injecting insulin is an essential part of the daily regime for many diabetics. Although insulin that can be inhaled is now available and approved, the reality is that most type 1 diabetics (and type 2 diabetics who require insulin) will have to continue injecting insulin until it is more common. Does injecting insulin hurt? Needle technology for insulin injection has become much better in recent years, meaning that the injection process, although not pain-free, does not hurt as much as it used to. Many patients still find injecting insulin to manage their diabetes an unpleasant process, however. Is injecting insulin and having diabetes going to change my life? Unfortunately, having diabetes does lead to lifestyle complications. For insulin therapy to be effective, it is necessary to make certain lifestyle changes. These should include: eating healthily exercising regularly testing blood glucose regularly and following a strict insulin regimen Although adhering to all these changes does influence your daily routine, the benefits for diabetics are enormous. Into what part of my body should I inject insulin to best help my diabetes? The abdomen is the most common site for injecting insulin. For some people, this site is not suitable, and other sites must be used. These include the upper arms, the upper buttocks and the outside of the thigh. All of these sites are most effective because they have a layer of fat to absorb the insulin better. This process directly injects insulin into the subcutaneous tissue. These areas also have fewer nerve endings, meaning that they are the least painful areas in which to inject. Should I switch the site where I inject insulin? Your healthcare team should be able to help you to decided the best places to inject insulin, when you shou Continue reading >>
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How To Give Yourself An Insulin Injection
Everyone with type 1 diabetes and a large number of people with type 2 diabetes will eventually need to inject themselves with insulin. People starting insulin should sit down with their diabetes educator, pharmacist, physician, or other primary health care provider to learn the proper injection technique. These experts can teach you, watch you, and help you master insulin injections. Here are the basic steps for giving yourself an insulin injection: Check the type and expiry date of your insulin. (Learn how to store your insulin properly. Insulin that is not being used should be kept in the fridge. Insulin that is currently being used can stay at room temperature for up to a month on average.) Wash both your hands and the area to be injected with regular soap, then rinse off the soap residue with water. You do not need to wipe the area with alcohol, although this was recommended in the past. Choose your injection site, as recommended by your health care team. It is important to rotate your injection sites (this means regularly changing the injection spot). Your diabetes educator can give you some tips on how to do this. If you are using a type of insulin that is normally cloudy, rotate it in your hand to mix it up (if your insulin is normally clear and it appears cloudy, discard it). a. For insulin pen users: Attach a pen needle. Dial up the right number of units on the pen. b. For insulin syringe users: Draw up the right number of units of air into the syringe. Inject the air into the insulin vial. Turn the vial upside down and draw up the right number of units of insulin. Pull the needle out of the bottle. Tap the syringe so air bubbles go to the top and they can be pushed out. Ask your diabetes educator whether you should pinch your skin before inserting the needle. Continue reading >>
Bd Answers Questions About Insulin Injection During Pregnancy
Free Updates HOME Main Forum BD Links: How insulin works Storing insulin Insulin facts & fiction Injection tips Injection sites Injection challenges Injection FAQ Needle disposal Traveling with insulin Lois Jovanovic, M.D., answers questions about pregnancy and diabetes BD answers questions about insulin injection during pregnancy This page is sponsored by BD Diabetes Educators recommend BD syringes to their patients more than any other brand because of the fine, thin BD needles 1. Pregnant women with diabetes seem to prefer to use the stomach as their injection site but are afraid they will hurt the baby. Is this possible? [back to insulin injections during pregnancy questions] Diabetes and Pregnancy - Insulin Injections in Stomach: It is very unlikely that a needle will ever directly hit the baby and cause a problem. However, it is important that injections be into the fat just below the skin and pregnancy can make that harder. In early pregnancy, you can inject as you normally do. But in late pregnancy, the skin of the stomach can become very stretched, with little fat below the skin. If you can pinch up the skin, you can continue to inject into the pinched up area. If you can't pinch up, choose an area at the side of your stomach that has more fat. If you use an insulin pen with a 5 mm pen needle, you may not need to pinch up in this fattier area. However, if you use an 8 mm or 12.7 mm needle, you will still need to pinch up. 2. Can stomach injections increase stretch marks? [back to insulin injections during pregnancy questions] Insulin Injections in Stomach During Pregnancy: No 3. What injection sites can be used during pregnancy, and which are the best? [back to insulin injections during pregnancy questions] Pregnancy and Insulin Injections: During pregnancy you Continue reading >>
Can We Express Specific Genes In Humans Using Extra-chromosomal Dna? Would It Be Possible To Inject Human Cells With Plasmid Dna That Has The Sequence For Insulin To Treat Diabetes?
So basically you are asking about "gene therapy". There are different ways of getting genetic information into cells. Some of those ways involve viruses that will transduce cells with the genetic information, which will then be integrated into the genome of the receiving cell (this is a very simplified explanation). Unfortunately we have not found a practical way yet to target the location of genome integration. This is the reason why people who undergo this kind of transduction can develop cancers like leukemia. A much safer approach is to transfect the cells with a plasmid, that is not integrated into the genome. The downside of this approach is that it's only transient. But for some diseases this might be the best approach. For example, in cystic fibrosis it is possible to inhale the vector, which will then only transfect cells of the airways. You can repeat the transfection by inhaling regularly. Gene therapy stabilises lungs of cystic fibrosis patients - BBC News But this, of course, is only applicable to accessible tissues. A local gene therapy if you will. Diabetes would need a different approach and maybe gene therapy is not the answer here. There have been studies using xenografts for treating diabetes and they look very promising. Xenotransplantation for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes Hope that helps. We could inject a plasmid that carries a gene for insulin in human cells, but we would face many problems in making it work properly: It would be hard to insert plasmids into sufficient number of cells. For sufficient amount of insulin to be produced we would need to insert the plasmid into millions of cells. The other genes on the plasmid would also be expressed, which might be bad for the cell. The injected DNA would not be distributed properly among daughter Continue reading >>
Is It Okay To Inject Insulin In Public?
Last week, one of our members said that they were fed up injecting insulin in dirty public restrooms. We wondered how common this practice was. Are you comfortable injecting in public or do you seek out a private place like a restroom? We posed the question on the Diabetes Daily Facebook page. And over 300 of you responded… strongly! Here are the nine most popular answers: “Of course; it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We inject, we live :)” – Jessica Alcorn “Yes I do! However back in the day when I was a teenager I went to the restroom at a McDonald’s and injected my insulin and had some lady call the police and tell them I was “shooting up” heroin in the bathroom!!! Three armed cops came rushing into the bathroom and grabbed my purse!! I was so scared and embarrassed!! They later apologized, but I was done doing it in the bathroom! So now I do it in the open,but the pens make it easier!!” – Randee Fratto “Of course! Its definitely nothing to be ashamed of, be proud you are taking care of your condition!” -Leanne ‘Brizzle’ Davis “Have done for the past 30 odd yrs!! Why on earth wouldn’t you? You’re Diabetic, that’s all! Its not a contagious disease!!” – Annette Columbine “gave my 5 year old her insulin in public. and boy people would stare. i dont care. she didnt either. she thought it was funny cuz people would cringe when she got a shot. :D” – Mellodie Humbert “When I was using pens I didn’t give it a second thought – nor do I now that I’m on a pump. I was and am discreet about it… don’t stand on a table and scream ‘look at me,’ but I personally don’t feel the need to hide it, be ashamed of it, or make a special trip to the ladies’ to inject. In some respects, if the right people see me and ask questions Continue reading >>
Injecting
Injections are often all that people think of when you mention diabetes. But if you're new to Type 1 diabetes, injecting yourself (or having someone else do it for you) can be quite easy. You can't get away from the need to inject, but these tips can make it a bit easier. There's no escaping the fact that injecting can be a bit uncomfortable, especially the first few because you may be tense and anxious. We can't guarantee that this will go away, but as you become more confident and relaxed, injecting will become easier. Where to inject Well, you have a choice of four main injection sites – your stomach, bum, arms or thighs. All these body parts have a wide skin area so you can inject in lots of different places within these sites. This is called 'rotating' your injection sites and is really important. If you keep injecting in the same place small lumps may build up under your skin. These will make injections less effective and you won't appreciate the lumps left behind. You might find your arms are a bit on the skinny side – most people's are when compared to, say, your legs. Talk to your nurse about whether it's OK for you to inject in your arms. When injecting just before you do some physical activity, avoid injecting the limb you are just about to use (for example, don't inject your thigh just before playing football). If you do inject the limb you are just about to use, this will speed up the action of insulin and make a hypo more likely. Heat can also speed up the action of your insulin after it has been injected, so be careful if it's a hot day. Other things, such as taking a hot bath or a massage, can have an effect too – so, if you are doing any of these things, you have to check your blood glucose levels more often. Your comments "I've been Type 1 diabet Continue reading >>
The Dos And Don'ts Of Insulin Injections
When diet, exercise, and oral medications aren’t enough to manage type 2 diabetes, it may be time for insulin. The most important aspect of insulin therapy is using it exactly as prescribed. Still, remembering all the little details can be tricky, and certain mistakes are common. By following these dos and don’ts, you can avoid medication mishaps and keep insulin working as it should. DO: Rotate the insertion site (while keeping the body part consistent). “Insulin is absorbed at different speeds depending on where you inject it, so it’s best to consistently use the same part of the body for each of your daily injections,” says Doreen Riccelli, BSN, director of education at Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett, Texas. “For example, don’t inject yourself in the abdomen on Saturday and in the thigh on Sunday,” she says. “If you choose the thigh for your evening injection, then use the thigh for all of your evening injections.” That said, within the specific body area, it’s important to move each injection site at least one finger’s width from the previous injection site to avoid the creation of hard lumps or extra fat deposits, which could change the way insulin is absorbed. DON’T: Store insulin incorrectly. Insulin can generally be stored at room temperature (59 to 86° F), either opened or unopened, for one month. When kept in the refrigerator, unopened bottles last until the expiration date printed on the bottle. Opened bottles stored in the refrigerator should be used or discarded after a month. Never store insulin in direct sunlight, in the freezer, or near heating or air conditioning vents, ovens, or radiators. It should also not be left in a very warm or cold car. Store it in an insulated case if needed. DO: Work closely with your doctor. Continue reading >>
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Dangers Of Injecting Insulin Through Clothing In Diabetic People
Present recommendations for insulin injections in patients with diabetes are varied and at times controversial. One such recommendation is to inject insulin through the clothing provided the clothes and skin are reasonably clean.1 This practice allows the patient to administer the injection at an appropriate time in almost any place when outside home, with minimal disruption. There are some anecdotal reports2 of this being done successfully without any adverse reaction. However, any scientific evidence comes from a single short-term study1 where no major complication was noted over a period of 20 weeks. Neither the British3 nor the American4 diabetic authorities recommend this practice in their detailed instructions and advice for patients. Standard textbooks5 suggest that people with diabetes may be immunocompromised and prone to infection following minimal trauma.6 Abscesses resulting from insulin injection at injection sites are well-documented.6 Injecting through clothing may pose additional danger by carrying cloth fibres or contaminants from the clothes. A patient is currently being treated in our department whose history clearly demonstrates the risk. The patient is a 40-year-old woman who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was a teenager. Her physician at the time of diagnosis recommended injecting insulin through her clothing. Initially, she found this practice to be very convenient. She continued with this practice for about four years and discontinued only after the injection sites (her thighs) started to become painful and uncomfortable. She started to use other anatomical areas for the insulin injections directly through skin and had no significant problem for over 15 years. Her glycaemic control had been largely satisfactory over these years and s Continue reading >>
