In the event you take insulin to handle your diabetes, you may be taking wherever from 1 to 10 injections per day.
And the place you inject your insulin issues — not solely as a result of sure areas of the physique are extra superb than others, but in addition as a result of it’s essential to make use of quite a lot of areas.
On this article, we’ll talk about the whole lot you might want to find out about insulin injection websites.
Why it issues the place you inject your insulin
Insulin is designed to be injected (or delivered by way of an insulin pump) into physique fats — also called “subcutaneous tissue.”
The speed at which your insulin is absorbed is essentially primarily based on the belief that it’s being injected into fats, quite than muscle.
When a pharmaceutical firm tells you that the “onset” of your Novolog or Humalog insulin is quarter-hour, for instance, that’s primarily based on when it’s injected into physique fats. The “peak” of its efficacy and the “length” of it staying in your bloodstream additionally is determined by it being injected into physique fats — not muscle.
What are one of the best injection websites for insulin?
The perfect injection websites for insulin are quite a lot of places in your physique which might be each straightforward to succeed in and include sufficient physique fats. (The leaner you’re, the extra chances are you’ll must “pinch” your layer of fats with a view to keep away from injecting into muscle.
- Stomach fats
- Facet-torso fats (“love deal with” space)
- Decrease again fats
- Thigh fats (on the outer or interior sides of your leg)
- Butt fats (higher, center, sides, and so on.)
- Arm (again or sides)
These areas are the almost certainly to have sufficient physique fats to comfortably inject insulin into utilizing a pen or syringe.
UPDATE: I recorded this YouTube video to point out you the place I inject my insulin:
Why you must rotate your insulin injections
Each time you inject insulin right into a sure space of your physique, that location of pores and skin and physique fats is “injured” and has to heal. Over the course of years injecting insulin into your physique, scar tissue will develop.
Chances are you’ll not see proof of that scar tissue on the skin of your physique, nevertheless it’s there on the within.
The extra you inject insulin into the again of your arm, the extra scar tissue will develop there. As folks with diabetes, it’s very straightforward to get into the behavior of injecting into the identical spot time and again as a result of it’s straightforward to succeed in and comfy to entry in the midst of a restaurant, for instance.
However scar tissue will considerably have an effect on your physique’s skill to soak up the insulin from that final injection, and you may find yourself needing extra insulin to do the identical job though your insulin wants didn’t change. As a substitute, it’s simply scar tissue constructed up and interfering with the absorption of your insulin dose.
Rotating your injection websites is crucial.
- In the event you used your left arm on your lunchtime injection, you must use your proper arm on your dinnertime injection.
- In the event you used the left facet of your bum on your long-acting insulin injection final evening, you must use your proper facet for tonight’s injection.
The extra you possibly can rotate the areas of your physique and the precise spots on every space, the much less scar tissue will construct up and the extra simply your physique will soak up that insulin.
How I rotate my insulin injection websites
Whereas I take advantage of my stomach and arms for my rapid-acting injections, I take advantage of my glutes and decrease again for all of my basal (long-acting insulin) injections.
I’ve a really do-it-yourself but in addition very efficient approach of maintaining observe of my injections so I bear in mind to rotate them.
To be sure that I do correct injection rotation, I’ve a bit of paper the place I notice down my injections (see picture under). I often change from proper to left facet day by day and can begin with injecting proper above the bikini line, then change to under the bikini line, and lastly inject alongside the bikini line.
This rotation sample takes me a couple of month to get by way of earlier than I begin over again. Thus far, that has labored very well for me. I’ve no lumps and my insulin absorption continues to be actually good after 20 years with diabetes.
Lipodystrophy: a side-effect of not rotating injection websites
Lipodystrophy (LD) is a situation affecting physique fats tissue and it’s quite common in individuals who take a number of day by day insulin injections. Different variations embrace “lipohypertrophy” (LH) or “lipoatrophy” (LA). All of which concern harm, scar tissue, or arduous lumps within the fatty tissue the place you’ve been injecting insulin.
One of the best ways to forestall LD from creating in your pores and skin tissue is by ensuring you rotate your injection websites and don’t repeatedly inject insulin into the identical space of tissue.
If you have already got indicators of LD, you possibly can discuss to your major care and ask for a referral to a dermatologist for additional steering on lowering it.
By no means inject two varieties of insulin in the identical space on the similar time
You also needs to take into account that you do not need to inject two various kinds of insulin in the identical space on the similar time.
In the event you’re taking a long-acting insulin dose and a rapid-acting insulin dose at 7 a.m., you must be sure they’re injected into two fully totally different areas of your physique.
Some insulins can have an effect on the efficiency, absorption, and efficacy of different insulins in the event that they “meet” one another in that subcutaneous tissue.
Are you able to inject insulin into muscle?
The quick reply is sure, however you shouldn’t inject insulin into muscle until it’s very intentional and also you perceive the results and dangers.
Injecting insulin straight into muscle goes to fully change how rapidly it’s absorbed into your bloodstream and the way rapidly it begins affecting your blood sugar ranges.
The “onset,” “peak,” and “length” will all change when insulin is injected straight into muscle tissue.
(It’s additionally going to be a bit extra painful!)
Be taught extra: Injecting Insulin into Muscle: Do’s and Don’ts
By no means inject long-acting insulin into muscle.
Lengthy-acting insulin (Tresiba, Lantus, Toujeo, Basalgar, NPH, Levemir) wants to remain lively in your physique for the meant length of time.
Injecting it into muscle means it’s going to be out of your bloodstream far sooner and thus put you at a excessive threat for severely excessive blood sugars and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
Contemplate injecting rapid-acting insulin into muscle if…
When treating a excessive blood sugar with a correction dose of insulin, the quantity of insulin you employ must be finely tuned to make sure your blood sugar doesn’t severely plummet.
The objective is to deliver your blood sugar again down right into a protected vary — that requires an correct “correction issue” and a few persistence.
You may contemplate injecting insulin into muscle if:
- Your blood sugar is extraordinarily excessive, over 250 mg/dL. Injecting your correction dose of insulin into muscle may assist it come down sooner.
- Your insulin pump failed and you might want to get insulin lively in your system as rapidly as attainable.
- You’re combating sudden extreme stress that’s going to (or has already) spiked your blood sugar.
- You are taking steroids for a situation like Addison’s illness. Contemplate injecting the insulin dose you employ to compensate for that steroid dose into muscle.
- Your blood sugar is excessive since you’re severely dehydrated and doubtlessly producing ketones.
- Your blood sugar is excessive previous to an essential exercise that requires a decrease blood sugar degree (like an athletic occasion or surgical procedure).
- You forgot to take insulin along with your meal. Injecting straight into muscle may help get the insulin on board sooner and stop that post-meal spike.
Remember the fact that you must all the time discuss to your physician prior to creating adjustments in how you are taking your insulin.
Correct and protected insulin injection approach
Properly, that is easy. Each time you inject insulin into physique fats or muscle, it’s essential to make sure that the realm is clear and that you’re utilizing a clear syringe or insulin pen.
Insulin syringes and pen needles are designed for use as soon as.
And you must sanitize the meant injection web site with an alcohol swab earlier than each injection.
Is that this realistically all the time attainable? Probably not — not in the actual lifetime of diabetes once you’re taking many injections a day. However the objective is to inject insulin into the cleanest location attainable to forestall infections.
Having to inject insulin into your physique each day is not enjoyable, nevertheless it retains us alive. The extra thought and consideration you place into the place you inject your insulin, the higher off you’ll be.
