WHERE TO INJECT INSULIN | IN WHICH PART OF THE BODY TO INJECT | HORMONE INJECTION SITE AND ABSORPTION RATE | DO I NEED TO CHANGE THE INJECTION LOCATIONS
People recently diagnosed with diabetes do not know where insulin should be injected. Meanwhile, the rate of assimilation of the hormone and the stability of the patient’s state of health depend on the correct choice of injection site.
WHERE TO INJECT INSULIN
The drug must be injected into the subcutaneous fat layer. To do this, the skin barrier, the thickness of which in adult patients and adolescents often varies between 2-2.5 mm must be pierced through. In children, the dermis is slightly thinner. A special insulin syringe with a 4 mm needle is enough for a safe puncture.
Attention: you need to try to prevent intramuscular administration of the drug! This leads to rapid absorption of the substance and sudden jumps in the level of glucose in the circulatory system.
Wipe the injection site with alcohol. For better absorption, it is permissible to gently press this area with your fingertips (you cannot rub it vigorously).
IN WHICH PART OF THE BODY TO INJECT
There are several places on the human body for injections of insulin.
- upper front abdomen: about 1 cm below the last rib, 1 cm away from the navel;
- middle third of the outer shoulder;
- front upper thigh (one third closest to the groin);
- the upper part of the buttocks;
- base of scapula, to the right or left of the spinal column.
It is not recommended that you inject the hormone into your hand on your own, since there is no way to create a skin pocket, which increases the risk of intramuscular administration of the drug. For the same reason, shoulders and legs are not suitable places for injecting insulin in children and thin people due to insufficient thickness of the fat layer.
HORMONE INJECTION SITE AND ABSORPTION RATE
The speed and effectiveness of drug absorption depends on where you inject insulin in diabetes. We give the main indicators in the form of a table.
| injection site | absorption efficiency (%) |
| stomach | 90 the fastest |
| shoulder | 70 fast enough |
| buttock | 70 slower |
| hip | 70 slow |
| shoulder blade | 30 the slowest |
From the data given in the table, it follows that injections into the scapular region are better not to do, since they are the least effective.
If a person injects a hormone on his own, then a short-acting drug must be administered in the stomach, prolonged – in the leg, because in the legs, the absorption rate is much lower.
The “short-acting” hormone can be injected into the arm, and the “long” hormone can be injected into the buttock, where the absorption rate is also lower. A similar scheme is relevant for young children, since such injections are the least painful.
DO I NEED TO CHANGE THE INJECTION LOCATIONS?
The area of the body where insulin is placed in diabetes should be periodically changed. If you constantly stab one spot, subcutaneous fatty tissue will be damaged. It will form seals (lipohypertrophy), which significantly impair the absorption of the drug.
From the previous puncture, the next one needs to retreat to a distance of at least 1.5-2 cm. In addition, injections into the stomach, arm, and leg should be alternately chosen. Alternation should be consistent – this will provide a stable level of glucose in the bloodstream. You can “return” to the place of the last injection no earlier than three days later.
The level of compensation for type 1 diabetes depends not only on diet and medication schedules, but also on how well the necessary procedures are performed. The patient and his relatives should learn the technique of proper insulin administration as soon as possible – this will significantly improve the patient’s quality of life.