LIVING WITH DIABETES: GIVING THE INJECTION. THE INSULIN SITE
Where you give the injection
The upper outer surface of the thigh, the upper outer surface of the buttocks, the upper outer surface of the upper arm and the front and lower surface of the abdomen are all suitable places for injection insulin.
It is a good idea to change the site of the injection each day, so that it is not always given at the same spot. If insulin is repeatedly put in the same spot, a lump may develop which can be unsightly, and the insulin may be poorly absorbed. On the whole it is usually best to use the buttocks and thighs in young children. These areas are covered by clothing and possible marks or swellings from injections will not be noticed. Most young children seem scared of the abdomen, but this area is often preferred by older people.
Injection in the arm of young children who have very little fat can lead to unpredictable absorption of insulin, as some of the insulin may be injected into muscle which is close to the skin in slim people. Insulin is absorbed more rapidly from muscle than from fat beneath the skin, especially with exercise.
Methods of injection
How you give the injection
1. Ensure the skin is clean. In hospital it is routine to swab the skin with an alcohol swab; this is important because there is always a possibility of unusual hospital germs. At home, many people also advise cleansing the skin with cotton wool dampened with methylated spirits or an alcohol swab. This is probably not really necessary. If the skin is dirty, soap and water and thorough drying is just as good. It is not possible to sterilize the skin with alcohol swabs or methylated spirits, as most of the germs live deep in the skin.
Perhaps the best advice is; be as clean as possible in giving the injection and don’t expect the skin to be sterile – just clean.
2. Pinch up a fold of skin. Now pick up a broad fold of skin between finger and thumb and hold it firmly. This steadies the skin and makes it easier to inject.
3. Hold the syringe in the other hand. Now push the needle firmly at a steep angle of about 60-90 degrees through the skin into the tissues beneath it. A firm thrust of the needle is easier and hurts less than a very slow cautious insertion. There is no danger of ‘going too far’.
Draw back on the plunger
4. Let go your hold on the skin and use that hand to support the syringe. With the other hand gently pull back the plunger as if trying to withdraw it. Check that no blood enters the barrel, as this would mean the needle is in a blood vessel. If blood should enter the syringe when you pull back the plunger, immediately pull the needle out and inject into another spot.
Push the plunger in
5. Provided blood does not appear (and it probably never will) push the plunger firmly and steadily in so that all the insulin is injected. Now pull the needle straight out.
A drop of fluid or blood emerging onto the surface of the skin after pulling out may be noticed, but does not matter.
Care with the needle and syringe
Now put the cap back on the needle if you intend to use the syringe a second time and store it carefully. Otherwise dispose of it safely, preferably break off the needle so that it cannot injure anyone. A rigid container such as a plastic juice container is useful.
*17/54/5*
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Tags: Diabetes