Contents:
- Medical Video: How to Use an Insulin Pen - Mayo Clinic Patient Education
- Various things that must be done and challenged when injecting insulin
- 1. Store insulin in the right place
- 2. Injecting insulin cannot be in any place
- 3. Always inject insulin in the same place
- 4. Be sure to give the right type of insulin at the right time
- 5. Pay attention to your food intake
Medical Video: How to Use an Insulin Pen - Mayo Clinic Patient Education
Diabetics must be encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle and routinely use drugs so that their blood sugar levels are controlled. However, when blood sugar continues to surge (after being evaluated every 3 months with HbA1c blood tests) even though the drug has been given, then the next treatment option is injectable insulin.
For those of you who are recommended to inject insulin, first know what to do and who is challenged when using injectable insulin.
Various things that must be done and challenged when injecting insulin
Insulin injections will be carried out alone by diabetics at home. Usually the doctor will teach and provide the first guide regarding what should be done when having to inject insulin yourself. However, there are many important things that are often forgotten when using insulin injections. In fact, errors when injecting insulin can be fatal to health, your blood sugar can be very low or even high.
Therefore, there are some things that must be considered when using injectable insulin, what are the things?
1. Store insulin in the right place
You cannot keep your insulin injections anywhere. Because, this drug requires the right temperature so that it is not damaged. Insulin can only last a month if stored at room temperature between 15-30 degrees Celsius. Will last longer if insulin is stored in the refrigerator.
Insulin that has not been opened (still sealed) if stored in the refrigerator can last until the expiration of insulin runs out. However, if insulin has been opened, even though it is stored in the refrigerator, it can only last for one month. Place insulin in a tightly closed box and then you can store it in a cold cupboard.
2. Injecting insulin cannot be in any place
You cannot inject insulin into any part of your body. not the same as injections of other drugs that must enter the blood vessels, insulin injections must be about fat tissue your body.
Therefore, insulin can be injected into several points of the body that have a thick enough layer of fat, such as the stomach, thighs, and arms. By getting into the fat layer, insulin will be easier and faster absorbed by the body.
3. Always inject insulin in the same place
Make sure you remain consistent in injecting insulin into these parts of the body. That is, if your morning insulin injection is done in the thigh, then the injection the next morning is also better in the thigh. Or injections of insulin for the night, you usually do on the stomach, then just keep doing insulin injections at night on the stomach, do not move. This turned out to affect insulin absorption.
However, if you will inject insulin again in the same place, give a distance of about one finger from the body part, so that the fat tissue does not become stiff.
4. Be sure to give the right type of insulin at the right time
Insulin injections are usually given several types, according to the dose and time of administration. Long-acting insulin is usually used at night, because type of insulin this can maintain blood sugar in a long time, which is more than 12 hours.
Meanwhile, in the afternoon, you will be given a short-acting type of insulin that can maintain blood sugar levels up to 5-8 hours. Usually, this type of insulin will be given 30-60 minutes before eating.
Giving insulin wrong at the wrong hour, can cause your blood sugar levels to become out of control. For example, you mistakenly injected long-acting insulin just during the day before eating, this can cause blood sugar levels to drop and risk hypoglycemia. Conversely, drastic increase in blood sugar (hyperglycemia), also can occur due to an error in giving insulin.
5. Pay attention to your food intake
Using insulin injections is an effort to keep your blood sugar well maintained. But that doesn't mean that with insulin treatment it means you can eat whatever you want. A diet must be maintained so that it remains healthy and low in sugar.
You can also use types non-sugar sweetener which is low in calories and contains chromium. Chromium is a mineral that can accelerate the insulin response to blood sugar so that blood sugar levels can be controlled properly.
