When Are Insulin Injections Given
- Insulin injections are given after meals. As the basic purpose of insulin is to assist the body metabolism in converting glucose into energy. So after the dog has eaten food, injecting insulin is effective. It converts glucose into energy and keeps the glucose level in the bloodstream low.
- Insulin can also be given when a dogs blood glucose level rises due to other factors like emotional imbalance or eating irregularity. You must talk to the vet before giving insulin in emergency conditions.
- Also, never give your dog insulin when he is having a severe critical condition like excessive diarrhea or vomiting during ketoacidosis. First, make the condition stable, and then inject your dog insulin.
Where Do You Inject Insulin In Your Body
If you inject insulin regularly, you will need to vary the areas of skin you inject your insulin into to ensure your insulin gets absorbed consistently. Also, by rotating your injection sites, you can avoid developing stiffer, lumpy skin helping you to feel happier. Ideal areas to inject into are parts of the body with a decent layer of fat.
Tips For Choosing Sites
Fast absorption of mealtime carbohydrates is typically important to reduce after meal blood sugars, therefore, unless instructed otherwise by your healthcare provider, or if you have an increased risk of low blood sugar or reactive hypoglycemia, it’s probably smart to inject your breakfast and lunch, and maybe dinner bolus doses into the abdomen. What is not advised is to inject your breakfast insulin in the abdomen one day and into the thigh the next day. If possible, be consistent within each site and rotate accordingly.
Long-acting or bedtime insulin could be injected into the thigh, buttocks, or upper arm so that the absorption can happen gradually, covering your insulin needs throughout the night.
Ultimately, what’s most important is that you have access to a site and are consistent. The choice is always yours.
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Change Injection Sites Regularly
When injecting insulin, you need to move injection sites so your skin doesn’t get lumpy. Lumpy skin is a build-up of fat under your skin caused by injecting into the same site. Lumpy skin can affect how your body absorbs insulin and can lead to different blood glucose levels. Also do not inject insulin on any damaged or scarred skin because this can affect the way insulin is absorbed.Different injection sites have different absorption rates. It’s best not to move injection sites daily from one part of your body to another. Instead go to different places within the area being used. Here are some examples of how to change insulin injection sites.
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Injecting Insulin In Your Cat
If you are new to the topic of diabetic cat health, and are unsure of why the vet prescribed insulin for your diabetic cat, then let us educate you a bit.
When your cat has diabetes, its pancreas stops producing insulin. Insulin is a chemical that is required to break down the glucose from the blood into energy, so it can be transported around the cats body for function.
Now because your diabetic cats body cant make its own insulin anymore, it has to be externally injected so it can perform its function in the body.
The process of insulin injection can be hurtful to your cat, so you need to make sure that you choose a proper injection site.
If you randomly try to inject the needle from any area of the cats skin, then the fluid can leak out of the body and cause further internal complications in your cat.
So how do you go about choosing a proper insulin injection site for your cat?
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How To Give Insulin In The Stomach With An Insulin Pen Or Syringe
Injecting insulin into the stomach is easy, and the same method can be used whether you are using a syringe or an insulin pen.
Too Much Insulin Or Not Enough
High morning blood sugar levels before breakfast can be a puzzle. If you haven’t eaten, why did your blood sugar level go up? There are two common reasons for high before-breakfast blood sugar levels. One relates to hormones that are released in the early part of sleep . The other is from taking too little insulin in the evening. To see which one is the cause, set your alarm to self-monitor around 2 or 3 a.m. for several nights and discuss the results with your health care provider.
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How To Give A Painless Injection
How to give a painless injection? Theres a simple technique to make injecting yourself with insulin easy and pain-free. The basic steps are to locate a fatty site so that you can inject the insulin into a layer of fat under the skin hold the needle like a dart and pierce the skin rapidly speed is key!
If you have Type 2 diabetes, sooner or later you may require insulin injections, either temporarily or permanently. This is nothing to be afraid of, even though many people with long-standing Type 2 diabetes literally spend years worrying about it. I usually teach all my patients how to inject themselves at our first or second meeting, before theres any urgency. Once they give themselves a sample injection of sterile saline , they find out how easy and painless it can be, and they are spared years of anxiety.
If youre anxious about injections, after you read this section, please ask your physician or diabetes educator to allow you to try a self-administered injection.
Insulin is usually injected subcutaneously.
To show you how painless a shot can be, your teacher should give himself or herself a shot and leave the syringe dangling in place, illustrating that no pain is felt. Your teacher should next give you a shot of saline to prove the point.
Now its time for you to give yourself an injection, using a syringe thats been partly filled for you with about 5 units of saline.
How to give a painless injection step by step
Can Insulin Injection Go Wrong
You may give your dog an extra dose of insulin. This can cause hypoglycemia, which is a sudden decrease in blood glucose levels. In hypoglycemia, your dog may show symptoms of
- Panting
- Seizures and even
- Death
To treat hypoglycemia, urgently rub honey or corn syrup to your dogs gums. If the condition does not get better, contact your vet for further instructions.
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What Is The Best Injection Site For Insulin
The best injection site for insulin is the abdomen. Injecting insulin on the stomach will ensure the insulin reaches your bloodstream quickly since there is no fatty tissue in that area to slow down absorption. You can also inject insulin in your thigh or buttocks, but these areas of the body may not absorb as quickly as the stomach or arm. However, injecting insulin in these areas can give you a sense of comfort since you’ll be able to see the needle before it goes into your skin. If you feel more comfortable with a particular site, then stick with that one. It’s important to inject into all areas of your body, but be aware that injections in some sites may require more force and pressure than others.
Inject Into Fatty Tissue
Insulin is meant to be injected subcutaneously into fatty tissue, such as the abdomen, outer parts of thighs, backs of arms, and buttocks. Injecting insulin into fatty tissue helps the body to absorb insulin slowly and predictably.
This layer of skin sits on top of the muscle and has less nerves, which can make injections more comfortable. The amount of fat thickness is variable based on injection site, age, gender, and body mass index.
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Can I Reuse My Syringe
If you use your needle or syringe multiple times, there are the following risks:
- The tip of the needle becomes blunt after just one use, the sliding layer on the tip may become worn and the tip of the needle may be deformed:
- injections hurt more.
- very small skin lesions or bruising may occur.
How To Avoid Pain When Injecting Insulin
Most injections are not painful. The chance of pain is greatly minimised by using a new needle.
Some tips to help avoid or minimise pain when injecting, include:
- Always use a new needle.
- Use a needle that is the right length. Your health team can advise you on whether youre using the right needle length.
- Use insulin and a needle which is at room temperature.
- Push the needle in quickly when injecting.
- Try not to wiggle the needle as youre injecting or withdrawing the needle.
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Where To Inject Insulin And Glp
The clinical evidence over the past couple of years has broadened our knowledge around skin, how it is layered and the best place for the insulin or GLP-1 to be absorbed.
This page will provide a more indepth insight into the skin, its make up, common injection sites as well as site rotation.
Injection in the Subcutaneous Layer
The preferred tissue space for insulin injection is the subcutaneous layer, which is the fat layer just below the dermis and above the muscle1 it offers slow, stable and predictable absorption, whatever the fat tissue depth2. Stable and predictable absorption of insulin will support optimal blood glucose control. Injections into subcutaneous tissue space are known to be less painful than injections into the dermis or muscle tissue spaces.
Disposing Of Needles Syringes And Lancets
In the United States, people use more than 3 billion needles and syringes each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These products are a risk to other people and should be disposed of properly. Regulations vary by location. Find out what your state requires by calling the Coalition for Safe Community Needle Disposal at 1-800-643-1643, or visiting their site at .
You arent alone in treating your diabetes. Before beginning insulin therapy, your doctor or health educator will show you the ropes. Remember, whether youre injecting insulin for the first time, running into problems, or just have questions, turn to your healthcare team for advice and instruction.
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Common Insulin Injection Sites
When learning how to take insulin, you will be taught which areas of the body are appropriate sites to give an insulin injection, and the importance of rotating these sites. You should be able to pinch a fold of skin at the insulin injection site, and take care that you are not injecting insulin into the muscle.
Depending on the type of insulin you use, the area of your body that you inject insulin may affect how quickly its absorbed. The American Diabetes Association states that insulin is most quickly absorbed when injected in the abdomen, followed by the upper arms, and more slowly when injected into the legs or buttocks/lower back area.
Below is an insulin injection site diagram and list of common sites:
Rotate Insulin Injection Sites
Because you will be injecting insulin on a regular basis for diabetes, you need to know where to inject it and how to rotate your injection sites. By rotating your injection sites, you will make your injections easier, safer, and more comfortable. If the same injection site is used over and over again, you may develop hardened areas under the skin that keep the insulin from being used properly.
Important: Only use the sites on the front of your body for self-injection. Any of the sites may be used if someone else is giving you the injection.
Follow these guidelines:
- Ask your doctor, nurse, or health educator which sites you should use.
- Move the site of each injection. Inject at least 1 1/2 inches away from the last injection site.
- Try to use the same general injection area at the same time of each day . Note: The abdomen absorbs insulin the fastest, followed by the arms, thighs, and buttocks.
- Keep a record of which injection sites you have used.
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How Can I Decrease Pain When I Inject Insulin
- Inject insulin at room temperature. If the insulin has been stored in the refrigerator, remove it 30 minutes before you inject it.
- Remove all air bubbles from the syringe before the injection.
- If you clean your skin with an alcohol pad, wait until it has dried before you inject insulin.
- Relax the muscles at the injection site.
- Do not change the direction of the needle during insertion or removal.
Administering The Insulin Shot
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Importance Of Site Rotation
Injecting into the same exact spot on the same exact site over and over again can cause the skin to develop hard lumps or extra fat desposits. Not only are these lumps unpleasant looking, they can change the way insulin is absorbed and make it more difficult to control your blood sugar. Over time, the thickened skin may not have nerve endings anymore and as a result, shots may become painless. A painless injection seems positive, but this can be mean that the skin is becoming more damaged and therefore it is not a good sign.
The best way to control blood sugar is to aim to use the same site at the same time of day daily and to rotate within that site. For example, if you take mealtime insulin, inject it daily into your abdomen for breakfast, but rotate within that site daily. And if you take long acting insulin at night, you can use your thigh, for example, but rotate within that site.
How Do I Draw Up One Kind Of Insulin
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