Insulin is a medicine that is injected by a person who is suffering from type 1 diabetes. In this disease, the body of the patient stops making insulin and hence they need external injections to make up for the deficiency. Insulin is necessary to be consumed along with proper diet and exercise. If a person is suffering from type 1 diabetes he has to take insulin for his life. There is a certain point in the life of a diabetes patient when the medicines have no impact at all and hence they need to start insulin as the sole hope.
Insulin helps in regulating the sugar levels of the patient’s body and helps in maintaining a good health. There are a lot of different ways insulin can be injected into the human body. Some of the ways are:
- Syringes: There are different sizes of syringes and they vary in size. It depends on the amount that has been prescribed by the doctor. The needles of the syringes also vary with size. Earlier the doctors used to prescribe the thickness of the needles according to body size, but later on, it was discovered that thickness of the needle does not matter.
- Insulin Pens: Insulin pens are of the most popular and now trending methods of injecting insulin. Depending on the dosage of the insulin that has prescribed, it can be used multiple times. The counter at the back can be used to set the dosage of the insulin. The insulin pen is kept in the fridge so that it remains at the required cool temperature.
Where to inject the insulin?
Insulin is injected in a subcutaneous injection. It needs to be injected into the fatty layer just below the skin. This is the reason that a short needle is used for injecting. If the injection gets inject too deep, that is the needle enters the muscle and this causes the insulin to be absorbed too quickly into the bloodstream. The injection is painful in such cases. Also, this may result in sugar levels going down too quickly and resulting in low blood glucose levels. It is advisable for people taking insulin injections to rotate the site of injection. This prevents the buildup of fatty mass below the skin or the fat beneath the skin to rupture and break. Thigh, arms, and buttocks are one of the most used spots for injecting insulin.
Abdomen:
This is the most preferable spot for injecting insulin. Insulin gets absorbed very evenly and usually, there are no issues with regards to fat rupturing or lump forming. It is advised that the blemishes, scars, and any form of ruptured skin should be avoided so that there is no interference with the normal bodily functions.
Steps for injecting:
- Every time for injecting a new needle should be used.
- The required dose should be taken and once the needle has been stuck in the upright position, the plunger should be brought down and the proper dosage should be injected.
- Once the insulin has been injected the needle should be broken and discarded.
