How to inject insulin

The 9 steps for injecting insulin safely

(Please follow the operating instructions for your insulin pen, the pen needles and the insulin carefully.)

1. Remove protective tab.

2. Leave the outer needle shield on,
and click or screw the needle straight
on to the pen.

Do not click off or unscrew the needle
at an angle.

3. Cloudy insulin types (NPH insulins) must be mixed before you can inject them. To do this, tip the pen gently back and forth at least 20 times (do not shake as this can cause foaming, which can lead to an inaccurate dose or can damage the insulin).

4. Remove the outer needle shield, pulling it straight off, and keep it in a safe place.

5. Remove the inner needle shield.

6. Check to see whether the insulin pen is ready for injecting (see pen instruction manual), remove any air bubbles and check the reliability of the system.

To remove air bubbles, hold the pen with the needle tip upright and tap against the insulin ampoule so that the air bubbles rise to the top. Then squirt the air bubbles out of the ampoule.

For the functional test, squirt 1 or 2 units out of the ampoule.

7. Insert the needle as instructed by your doctor and slowly inject the insulin (count up to 10). When doing this, the tip of the needle should be lower than the rest of the pen, so that any air bubbles that you did not remove float upwards and are not injected.

Inject large insulin doses as slowly as possible and using a longer needle (larger inner diameter). This helps to minimise pain when injecting and to prevent any leakage of the insulin from the site after the injection, and also has a positive effect on the insulin distribution in the subcutaneous fatty tissue.

8. Carefully replace the outer needle shield (only applies if you are injecting yourself).

9. Unscrew the needle and dispose of it carefully.

Note: Remove the needle immediately after each injection. Store the insulin pen without any pen needles attached, as otherwise the insulin ampoule will not be sealed.

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