Injecting Insulin

• Dec 25, 2023

Injecting insulin with a syringe:

1. Wash and dry your hands.
2. Pick a clean, dry part of your body.
3. Make sure you use the right type of insulin and inject the right amount.
4. If your insulin is cloudy, mix it by rolling it gently between your hands. Do not shake it.
5. Take the caps off the syringe. There may be 2 caps, one for the plunger and one covering the needle.
6. Fill the syringe with air by pulling back the plunger to the amount of insulin you want to inject.
7. Wipe the top of the insulin bottle with an alcohol pad and put the needle through the top of the bottle.
8. Push down on the plunger to release the air into the bottle.
9. Turn the bottle and syringe upside down and pull black the plunger to fill the syringe with the amount of insulin you need.
10. Look for air bubbles in the syringe. Tap the syringe to move any air bubbles to the top and gently push them out with the plunger.
11. Remove the syringe and needle from the bottle. Use the insulin immediately.
12. Gently grab a fold of fatty skin between your fingers.
13. Push the needle into the skin.
14. Let go of the pinched skin and push down on the plunger to get the insulin into your body.
15. Wait a few seconds before you pull out the syringe to make sure that all the insulin is injected.
16. Do not rub the area you injected the insulin in.
17. Write down the amount of insulin you used the time you injected it, and where on your body you injected it.

Injecting insulin with an insulin pen:

1. Wash and dry your hands.
2. Pick a clean, dry part of your body.
3. Turn the dial on your insulin pen to the amount of insulin you need.
4. Some pens need to be “primed” first to make sure the right amount of insulin is injected. Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about this.
5. Gently grab a fold of fatty skin between fingers.
6. Push the needle into your skin.
7. Let go of the pinched skin and press down on the plunger to get the insulin into your body.
8. Keep the pen in your skin for 5 seconds and then remove it.

Source: MKT0562

Source available at: https://www.trividiahealth.com/lll/