Insulin pens

Most diabetics in Europe prefer to use an insulin pen to inject insulin. The advantage of an insulin pen compared to a syringe lies mainly in its simpler and more discreet handling. It is not necessary to laboriously withdraw insulin from an ampoule, you do not have to carry the equipment (insulin ampoules, syringes, etc.) around with you, and some insulin pens even look more like a writing pen than a medical device. You select the dose by turning a dial. Then you insert the pen needle into the (subcutaneous) fatty tissue, and press the dosage button to inject the desired insulin dose. This principle applies to all insulin pens, but the handling details can vary.

Disposable insulin pens (single-use pens) are ready to use, with an insulin ampoule already inserted. When the ampoule is empty, you have to dispose of the entire insulin pen.

When you use a re-usable insulin pen, you have to replace the empty insulin ampoule with a new pre-filled insulin ampoule.

Your diabetes team can advise you on selecting a suitable insulin pen on the basis of a number of different criteria, such as:

• Which insulin is used? Insulin ampoules and insulin pens from a particular manufacturer are frequently compatible only with one another.


• Is the insulin pen of high quality and robust?


• How easy is it to read the dose indicator? For people with eyesight problems, good readability is often the deciding factor.


• How simple is it to operate?


• Is it possible to correct a dose after selecting the wrong dose?


• Is the last insulin dose displayed?


• Does the insulin pen sit comfortably in the hand?


• Does the insulin pen look good?
  

Tip:
The Penfine^® universal click™ pen needle fits all common insulin pens.