Living with Diabetes | 23
preparing your dose
You may take insulin using a syringe follow the steps below. If your
that you fi ll from a vial or using a insulin comes in a pen, your doctor
dosing pen that contains the insulin. can show you how to use it correctly.
To prepare a dose using a syringe, Follow the directions carefully.
Wash your hands.
Take the plastic cover off the new
insulin bottle and wipe the top
of the bottle with a cotton swab
dipped in alcohol. It’s best for the
insulin to be at room temperature
before you inject it.
health tip
Pull back the plunger of the
To keep your skin syringe. This draws air into the
from thickening, syringe equal to the dose of insulin
avoid injecting the that you are taking. Then put the
insulin in the same syringe needle through the rubber
place over and top of the insulin bottle. Inject
over. Instead, rotate air into the bottle by pushing the
injection places.syringe plunger forward. Then turn
the bottle upside down.
where to inject
Make sure that the tip of the needle is
in the insulin. Pull back on the syringe
plunger to draw the correct dose of
Insulin is injected just under the
insulin into the syringe. The dose is
skin. Your doctor will show you measured in units on the syringe.
how and where to give an insulin
injection. First, clean your skin
with cotton dipped in alcohol. Most
Make sure there are no air bubbles
people are able to grab a fold of skin
in the syringe before you take the
and inject insulin at a 90-degree
needle out of the insulin bottle.
Air bubbles can cut down the angle. If you’re thin, you may need
amount of insulin that you get in
to pinch the skin and inject at a
your injection. If air bubbles are
45-degree angle. When the needle
present, hold the syringe and the
is in your skin, you don’t need to
bottle straight up in one hand, tap
draw back the syringe plunger to
the syringe with your other hand
and let the air bubbles fl oat to the check for blood. The usual places to
top. Push on the plunger of the
inject insulin are the upper arm, the
syringe to move the air bubbles
front and side parts of the thighs,
back into the insulin bottle. Then
and the abdomen. Don’t inject
withdraw the correct dose by
insulin closer than two inches from
pulling back on the plunger.
your belly button.
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