Question about injection of insulin

Specialties Endocrine

Published

I have watched some videos about insulin injection. Some videos showed pinching the skin continuously when doing the injection while some videos showed using the hand to stabilze the needle and release the pinched skin after the needle is injected into the area. Which one is correct or both of them are fine? Thanks a lot.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

It depends on how much adipose tissue the patient has.

I'll just stabilize the site and inject at a 90 degree angle if the patient is badly overweight and/or has a lot of peripheral body fat. If the patient is very thin without much adipose tissue, I'll keep the skin pinched while injecting at a 60 degree angle.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

I am a diabetic and it does not seem to make any difference on technique for me, but the advice above seems appropriate.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Just don't pinch too hard. Insulin likes to leak back out.

After pushing the plunger it's best to count to 5 before removing the syringe so it can act like a cork and give the insulin a chance to absorb.

When I was a kid they used to teach us to draw the insulin then add a few units of air in the syringe before injecting to prevent leakback. Not sure if that was effective or if it's still taught.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
It depends on how much adipose tissue the patient has.

I'll just stabilize the site and inject at a 90 degree angle if the patient is badly overweight and/or has a lot of peripheral body fat. If the patient is very thin without much adipose tissue, I'll keep the skin pinched while injecting at a 60 degree angle.

^This

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am a diabetic, and in an ADN program. I've had diabetes for 23 years. I had to question what they were teaching in lab. They were saying to inject at a 45 degree angle. Now they "sort of" agree with me that it's 90 degrees. I've always done 90 degrees. They say 45-90 now. I feel that even when I was very sick and had almost no fat to pinch, I still did 90. If the person has at least enough to pinch (unless of course they extremely emaciated or muscular), then 90 is best, and would seem to me to decrease leaking. I usually hold the skin after pinching, inject and then release. I don't wait, and I've rarely had any insulin leak out. Hope this helps. I know I'm no expert in the field, but I am my own expert with my disease ;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment