In the event you stay with insulin-dependent diabetes and handle your blood sugars with an insulin pen or syringe, you’re more than likely taking 2 or extra insulin pictures a day.
That’s a minimal of 730 occasions a yr that you simply’re piercing your pores and skin with a needle to do an injection.
I do much more than 2 injections a day. I’m nearer to 7 doses a day, which isn’t uncommon for folks dwelling with diabetes. That’s 2,555 injections a yr!
I don’t thoughts and it doesn’t harm. However one of many most important causes it doesn’t harm is that I take advantage of the best needle, the best injection approach, and I alter my needles often.
On this article, you’ll discover ways to select the needle or syringe measurement that’s best for you to reduce ache, keep away from scar tissue buildup, and be certain that a full dose is acquired each time you inject.
What’s a pen needle?
Pen needles are needles that you simply connect to a prefilled or sturdy pen to be able to inject the remedy.
Frequent forms of pen needles embrace normal pen needles and security pen needles, with most individuals utilizing a regular pen needle.
You possibly can watch this 1-minute video to see precisely what a pen needle is:
A regular pen needle has an outer cowl and a detachable interior needle cowl. Each have to be eliminated earlier than insulin flows.
Sadly, because of poor coaching, not everybody has been taught that it’s essential to take away each covers. In accordance with the FDA, this has led to folks ending up with severely elevated blood sugars and even hospitalizations. So keep in mind to take away each covers and visually be certain that insulin is flowing.
The security needle is just a little totally different. It has an outer cowl that’s eliminated earlier than injections, however the interior cowl isn’t eliminated. While you push the protection needle into your pores and skin, the interior cowl slides again to disclose the needle.
As a result of the interior cowl isn’t eliminated, it protects you towards by accident poking your self with the needle.
This kind of needle is right should you’re petrified of needles (as you’ll by no means see the precise needle) or if there’s a concern that you simply’ll by accident poke your self with the needle.
Pen needle sizes
Insulin pen needles can be found in several sizes from 4 mm to 12.7 mm in size (5/32 inch to ½ inch).
Typically, the medical neighborhood leans in the direction of the usage of shorter needles, however you in the end have to resolve which needle measurement is best for you.
Being prescribed an extended needle could make that preliminary insulin injection considerably daunting and would possibly even impression your want to take your injections as prescribed.
If that’s the case, please attain out to your physician and request a unique needle, or should you’re in a state that doesn’t require a prescription (extra on that later), buy a measurement that fits you on-line or at your native pharmacy.
How have you learnt what measurement insulin needle to make use of?
Insulin and GLP-1s have to be injected subcutaneously (into the fats between your pores and skin and your muscle) so it’s best to select a needle that means that you can try this the simplest.
On common, human pores and skin is 1.9–2.4 mm thick no matter physique measurement, gender, ethnicity, and BMI. Which means that a brief 4- or 5-mm needle needs to be efficient for all physique sorts.
The Worldwide Scientific Advisory Board states that there isn’t a medical purpose to advocate a needle size longer than 8 mm. The board recommends 4-, 5-, and 6-mm needles for all grownup sufferers no matter their BMI.
That doesn’t imply you’ll be able to’t use an extended needle, however utilizing an extended needle can enhance the probabilities of bruising, bleeding, and ache.
When utilizing an extended needle, you additionally danger injecting your insulin into the muscle (known as an intramuscular shot). If insulin is injected into the muscle as an alternative of the fatty tissue, absorption may be too fast which might result in low blood sugars.
Though shorter needles are usually beneficial, there are particular circumstances the place an extended needle could also be a greater possibility.
For instance, chances are you’ll profit from utilizing an extended needle In case you have coordination challenges from circumstances equivalent to arthritis or Parkinson’s illness.
Needle thickness – What’s the deal?
Needle thickness is measured in gauge (G) reasonably than millimeters or inches. Pen needles are available in 29 G to 32 G, and the upper the gauge, the thinner the needle.
The pen needle thickness is especially related should you inject a considerable amount of insulin at a time, as you may want a needle with a decrease gauge that can enable extra insulin to stream via quicker.
When to pinch the pores and skin
There are alternative ways of efficiently doing a subcutaneous injection and the best approach comes all the way down to what size of needle you select.
In case your needle is 4 mm or 5 mm, you are able to do the injection at a 90-degree angle. Which means you don’t have to pinch the pores and skin, and you are able to do the injection one-handed should you like. This may be sensible should you’re injecting into the arm, decrease again, or glutes.
Kids from 2 to six years outdated or extraordinarily lean adults may have to make use of a pinch-up approach no matter needle size.
In the event you go for a needle longer than 5 mm, it would be best to do the injection with a pinched-up skinfold or a 45-degree angle to keep away from intramuscular injection of insulin.
What about leakage issues associated to shorter needles?
Some folks have raised the priority that brief needles will result in leakage (insulin not being totally injected) or that they aren’t appropriate for folks with bigger our bodies.
That concern has been debunked and analysis has proven that shorter needles work for many physique sorts, with no further leakage.
However should you really feel extra snug utilizing an extended needle, then it’s best to completely try this.
How you can get your pen needles or syringes
You would possibly marvel if you should purchase pen needles over-the-counter, and the brief reply is that it relies upon.
In the USA, prescription guidelines differ from state to state and in some states, you don’t want a prescription to purchase pen needles.
Nonetheless, should you use your insurance coverage to pay in your needles, they may require a prescription. Attain out to your insurance coverage firm to be taught should you want a prescription and if that’s the case, how a lot your co-pay is.
There are additionally choices to purchase pen needles on-line with no prescription, however which answer is most cost-effective for you’ll rely in your insurance coverage.
How to decide on the best insulin syringe?
Utilizing a syringe in your insulin injections remains to be probably the most extensively used means of delivering insulin in the USA.
A syringe is a hole plastic tube with a plunger inside and a brief skinny needle connected. It’s important to use the syringe to attract the insulin out of a vial after which inject it.
You need to select the best syringe for the kind of insulin that you simply use, and the very first thing to examine is that if the focus of your insulin matches the syringe.
It’s indicated on the syringe (in addition to on the packaging) what insulin focus the syringe is for. Insulin focus is measured in Models/mL and indicated as U-100, U-200, or U-500.
Ensure that your syringe matches your insulin focus otherwise you would possibly find yourself injecting the improper quantity of insulin.
Secondly, you need to select the syringe measurement that’s applicable for you. In the event you use massive quantities of insulin at a time, you’ll need to select a bigger syringe so that you simply don’t have to chop your doses up into smaller quantities.
- 0.3 mL syringes are for doses beneath 30 items of insulin and are numbered at 1-unit intervals.
- 0.5 mL syringes are for doses of 30 to 50 items of insulin and are numbered at 1-unit intervals.
- 1.0 mL syringes are for doses of greater than 50 items of insulin and are numbered at 2-unit intervals.
Lastly, you need to contemplate which measurement needle is suitable for you. Simply as with pen needles, shorter needle sizes are usually beneficial.
You may get syringes with needles so long as 12.7 mm (1/2”) lengthy however the shortest syringe needle size obtainable is 6 mm (15/64”) x 31G.
Good injection applys
Selecting the needle or syringe that works for you is necessary, however injections shall be extra snug with much less danger of ache or leakage should you additionally keep in mind to:
- Change the needle each time.
- Select the best injection website and rotate your websites.
- Don’t jab the needle in
- Maintain it in for five to 10 seconds to scale back the chance of leakage.
In the event you select the best needle measurement and observe good injection practices, injecting insulin ought to not often be painful. When you find yourself accomplished along with your pen needle or syringe, please keep in mind to get rid of them safely.
