A Guide to Use Your Insulin and Syringe Safely

A Guide to Use Your Insulin and Syringe Safely

Insulin is often prescribed to patients who are suffering from diabetes. Apart from following a disciplined lifestyle with strict diet and exercise routines, it is also necessary that they take care of their insulin and the accompanying tools like insulin syringes in the best possible way.

It is true that insulin is often prescribed to be refrigerated. Injecting the cold insulin can sometimes make the process quite painful. That is why, many physicians suggest to store the insulin in normal room temperatures. The insulin that is stored at the room temperature can actually last for about 30 days.

But make sure that if you have bought more than 1 bottle for saving money then you should refrigerate them. But take out the bottle well on time. This way you will not undergo any type of pain.

Below are mentioned some of the tips for storing the insulin.

• Every time before drawing the insulin into the syringe, you should check whether the insulin looks normal.
• You should never store the insulin near or in extreme low and high temperatures.
• You must check the date of expiry prior to using the insulin and you should never use the insulin if the product is expired.
• Keep the insulin away from direct sunlight, freezer and the glove compartment of a vehicle.

Check for discolouration or particles of the insulin. Check for crystals or “frosting” in the insulin if you are using lente or NPH. You can also check for clumps in the insulin. If you find any of these in the insulin, then you should not use it. Return the unopened bottle to the store and get the cash back or new bottles in exchange for those.

Reusing Syringes

If you can reuse syringes then it will help to not only avoid purchasing large supplies and cut costs, but it will also reduce wastage to a great extent. Prior to reusing, however, you should consult your doctor. They are the ones who will know whether that will be right or not.

You should not go for syringe reuse if you are prone to infection, are ill or have open wounds. Remember the syringe makers do not guarantee the sterility of syringes that are being reused.

At the time of reusing syringes, here are some of the tings to keep in mind. Just read on to know.

• You should never let the syringe touch anything except the top of the insulin bottle and clean part of the skin.
• When you are not using it, you should keep the needle capped. This way it stays clean.
• If you clean the needle with alcohol, then it removes the coating that helps it to slide into the body. So do not do that.
• Never let anyone use a syringe that you have and never use anyone else’s syringe.

Apart from the above, you should also ensure that you purchase quality BD syringes in the first place so that you can keep using the syringes without any worry of infection.