Use of alcohol before injection | Insulin Administration | Disposable Syringe Pens | Insulin pumps
There are certain requirements for the administration of insulin, as well as for the administration of any other drug.
Insulin for injection should be at room temperature. Therefore, a bottle of insulin or a syringe pen that you use every day should not be stored in the refrigerator, but at room temperature.
If you see that there is not enough insulin for the next injection, you should remove the cartridge from the refrigerator in advance.
Use of alcohol before injection
The injection site should not be wiped with alcohol before each injection.
- Firstly, alcohol strongly dries the skin, which with constant use can adversely affect the condition of the skin.
- Secondly, alcohol destroys insulin. Therefore, if you rubbed the injection site with alcohol, wait until the alcohol has completely dried and only after that do the injection.
Insulin Administration
For insulin injection use:
- Reusable Syringe Pens
- Disposable pens with cartridge already refilled
- Syringes
- Insulin pumps
- Insulin syringes
- Exact administration of the desired dose
- Disposable
- Thin needles
Insulin syringes are currently less common than before. But still, they remain the most accurate means for administering insulin.
To administer the drug with a syringe, insulin is released in vials.
The correct insulin concentration and type of syringe must be combined. So, there are insulin solutions with a concentration of 40 and 100 units. For each concentration there is a syringe with a corresponding mark.
If you mix the syringe and the concentration of insulin, then the wrong dose will be given, which will lead to hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.
Disposable modern insulin syringes employ a thin needle. Therefore, insulin injections with a syringe are painless.
- Syringe pens
- Convenience and ease of injection
- You can choose the most comfortable needles
- Painless injection
- Children can inject themselves
Syringe pens are the most common means for administering insulin. Each company producing insulin produces its own syringe pens for its own insulin.
You should not use a pen-syringe from one company to administer another insulin. In this case, the company does not guarantee an exact dose, which can lead to fluctuations in sugar.
An insulin cartridge is inserted into the syringe pen. When the insulin in the cartridge runs out, it is removed, and another is inserted.
You can choose any injection needles – they vary in length, which is very convenient. Indeed, for a small child and an adult, needles of different lengths will definitely be convenient.
Now there are simple mechanical syringe pens, electronic syringe pens. There are pens that remember the time of the last injection. Pens can remember the last dose entered.
The pens themselves can be made of plastic or metal, in different colors, which children may like.
Disposable Syringe Pens
- Easy to operate
- No need to refill cartridge
- You can choose comfortable needles
Disposable syringe pens are currently produced by various insulin manufacturing companies.
Disposable syringe pens are available immediately with an insulin-filled cartridge. At the end of insulin, the syringe pen is discarded.
In these syringe pens, both short and extended insulin are currently available.
These pens are lightweight, plastic. All needles are suitable for them, which are also suitable for reusable syringe pens.
Insulin pumps
- There is no need for daily injections
- The possibility of introducing minimum doses
- Possibility to measure sugar level
- Ability to turn off insulin delivery if necessary
- Insulin pumps are gaining great popularity both in the US and in other countries.
Modern pumps are compact computers that measure sugar, calculate the dose of insulin, inject background insulin, inject insulin for food or lowering high sugar.
Many people like insulin pumps, as they give more freedom, exclude daily injections.
Pumps are preferred for young children, as they make it possible to set the minimum dose of insulin.