The Art of Insulin Injections
The word injection sends chills running up and down one's spine as visions of long sharp needles fill the eye. However, it can become less frightening and much easier the more familiar you become with how to correctly inject insulin.
The most universal way to inject insulin is with a syringe and needle (although there is an insulin pen out on the market now). You draw insulin out of a bottle and into a syringe; then inject the medication beneath your skin where it's absorbed into your bloodstream.
Insulin may be injected into several areas of your body where there is a deposit of fatty tissue present and where large blood vessels, nerves, muscles and bones are not too near to the surface.
Belly is the only area of human body where there is rapid and reliable absorption which is why insulin is often injected in there. The two inch ring around the navel does not absorb and hence insulin is not injected there. Illustration shows the rotation of the injection. Back of your upper arms, thighs or buttocks are some of the areas which your physician may suggest you getting injected.
Several of the sterile practices that health care professionals used to recommend for insulin injections have been effectively proven as needless. Diabetics have been observed for a long time injecting their insulin through their clothes. A study was developed to establish the safety and professed benefits of giving insulin injections in this manner. The participants injected through a single layer of fabric, which varied from nylon to denim. None of the subjects experienced erythema, induration, or abscess at injection locations. Neither the glycated hemoglobin levels nor the leukocyte counts varied between the conventional and experimental programs. In the injection-through-clothing phase of the study, only trivial problems, such as blood stains on clothing and bruising, possibly due to the slight extra force needed to get the needle through the layer of cloth, were documented. The test subjects stated that injection through their clothing offered benefits such as ease and saving time. It was concluded that it is safe to inject insulin through ones clothing.
The term given to injecting insulin through inserting syringe into the skin is known as 'insulin injection technique'. This is done in order to inject a proper dose of insulin into the patients' body. For the purpose of making insulin injection treatment a success for yourself, your physician or a member of their team can assist you in learning this technique.
Proper injection of insulin involves injecting at the correct depth into the skin. Often physicians recommend to get injected at the area where a high level of fat is present.
An injection that goes too deep, could inject the insulin into a muscle where it is absorbed more quickly but does not have the same lasting effect; moreover, shooting insulin into a muscle can be painful. If you do not shoot deep as necessary, the insulin just stays in the skin. This affects the commencement and time frame that insulin is useful.
To get the proper depth most people will pinch up a fold of skin and insert the needle at a 90 angle to the skin fold. If you are injecting into an area that does not contain a lot of fat tissue, you may need to adjust the angle to 45 for comfort.
Follow your doctor's recommendation for taking insulin. Injecting insulin yourself does not have to be tough. Get in touch with your physician, their aide or nurse, if you are unsure concerning your insulin treatment program. Becoming comfortable with giving yourself shots and staying away from commonplace troubles, insulin injections will become part of your routine that aids you in keeping on top of things concerning your diabetes.