Perfect Insulin Needle Size Chart
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Ways To Inject Insulin: Syringes And Pens
When it comes to giving yourself insulin, its important to know that you have options. The process of giving yourself insulin is called insulin delivery. Of course, the ideal way to deliver insulin would involve anything without a needle for example, swallowing a pill, using a nasal spray or wearing a patch. Unfortunately, these methods arent available . In the meantime, the most common insulin delivery methods are:
· Syringe and vial· Inhaler
Each of these methods has its pros and cons, and, for this reason, its helpful to talk out your options with a diabetes educator or your doctor to decide whats best for you. In this piece, well take a closer look at insulin syringes and insulin pens.
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What Are The Different Types Of Syringes
At a glance, syringes look the same but they are not. There are different varieties of syringes, although, most of them are disposable. If you buy a syringe, it either comes with or without a needle attached to it.
Image 5: The different types of syringe tips.
Picture Source: vitalitymedical.com
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How To Choose The Right Insulin Syringe
Using a syringe for your insulin injections is still the most widely used way of delivering insulin in the United States.
A syringe is a hollow plastic tube with a plunger inside and a short skinny needle attached. You have to use the syringe to draw the insulin out of a vial and then inject it.
You want to choose the right syringe for the type of insulin that you use, and the first thing to check is if the concentration of your insulin matches the syringe.
Its indicated on the syringe what insulin concentration the syringe is for. Insulin concentration is measured in Units/mL and indicated as U-100, U-200, or U-500.
Make sure your syringe matches your insulin concentration or you might end up injecting the wrong amount of insulin.
Secondly, you want to choose the syringe size thats appropriate for you. If you use large amounts of insulin at a time, youll want to choose a larger syringe so that you dont have to cut your doses up in smaller amounts.
- 0.3 mL syringes are for doses under 30 units of insulin and are numbered at 1-unit intervals.
- 0.5 mL syringes are for doses of 30 to 50 units of insulin and are numbered at 1-unit intervals.
- 1.0 mL syringes are for doses of more than 50 units of insulin and are numbered at 2-units intervals.
Finally, you want to consider which size needle is appropriate for you. Just as with pen needles, shorter needles sizes are generally recommended.
Which Device Syringe Or Pen
The decision to use syringes or pens is a personal one. Here are some points to think about:
- Insulin pens are easy to carry around and make measuring and injecting your insulin easier. Injections can be administered discretely. Most pens hold 300 units of insulin and can give up to 6080 units at a time. Most insulins are available as pens. Pens also allow the use of a 4 mm needle, which can be safer for ensuring administration into the subcutaneous area.
- Syringes hold up to 100 units. They may be best if you use mixed insulins or if you’re giving insulin to a child.
Talk to your healthcare provider for more advice. Read more about insulin pens and insulin injection technique.
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Does The Size Of My Insulin Syringe Matter
Medical syringes come in different sizes which may put patients in a dilemma to choose the right one for their daily dose of the hormone.
The size of the insulin syringe is decided on the basis of your prescribed hormone dosage. Therefore, patients may require to switch to multiple syringe sizes over time as per their bodys requirement. Choosing the wrong syringe size can lead to the improper dosage of insulin which can alter the effectiveness of the insulin treatment.
Therefore, it is better to choose the right syringe size for your insulin shot to get the hormone administered in proper dosage.
Needle Thickness Whats The Deal
Needle thickness is measured in gauge rather than millimeters or inches. Pen needles come in 29 G to 32 G, and the higher the gauge, the thinner the needle.
The pen needle thickness is mainly relevant if you inject a large amount of insulin at a time, as you might want a needle with a lower gauge that will allow more insulin to flow through faster.
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Supplies That The Diabetic Patient Needs
Monitoring supplies: The first 3 supplies are for monitoring blood sugars.1) Glucometer Refer patient to Durable Medical Equipment to get glucometer if their insurance covers for it.2) Blood glucose test strips2) Lancets
If you need to write the prescription, do:Glucometer. Disp # One. Ref # NoneBlood glucose test strips. Re: Use twice daily as instructed. Disp#180. Ref# 1 Lancets . Re: Use twice daily as instructed. Disp#180. Ref# 1
Injection supplies: The last two are for injecting themselves with insulin.1) Needles for injecting the insulin.2) A syringe of the right size determined by the amount of insulin that will be injected. Choose from a 3/10ml, 1/2ml, or 1ml syringe as needed.
Syringe Size: Syringes come in three common sizes, 3/10ml, 1/2ml, and 1ml. See syringe sizes and how to chose the right size here.
Most often, the syringes come with the needles attached to them already and dont have to be bought separately.
What Size Insulin Syringe Should I Buy
Insulin syringes come in several sizes. When buying syringes, keep these things in mind: Needle gauge: The gauge of the needle means its width, or thickness. Insulin syringes range from 28 gauge to 31 gauge, and the larger the number the smaller the gauge. Smaller, thinner children may do well with the smaller gauge needle. Some older and larger children may prefer the larger needle. Needle length. Common needle lengths are 12.7 mm and 8 mm . The 8-mm needle is called “short” and is the length that most people prefer. Barrel size: The barrel size determines how much insulin the syringe can hold. Buy a barrel size that best matches your standard insulin dosage. For example, a 3/10-cc syringe is best for 30 units or less, 1/2-cc syringe is best for 30 to 50 units, and a 1-cc syringe is best for injections of 50 to 100 units. To make sure you have the size you need, always check the box before you leave the pharmacy. When you draw up insulin, look closely at the markings on the barrel, especially whenever you change syringe sizes. The markings will be different, and you need to make sure you’re drawing up the right dose.Continue reading > >
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How To Safely Administer Insulin
As the body uses digestive enzymes to break down insulin, a person must use a subcutaneous injection to deliver the insulin into the layer of fat below the skin. The insulin can then absorb steadily into the bloodstream, where it circulates to cells throughout the body.
To draw insulin into a syringe, a person should:
An individual is now ready to inject the insulin. Common injection sites can include the stomach, hips, thighs, buttocks, and backs of the arms. To administer the insulin, a person should:
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Insulin is a hormone that helps to manage blood sugar. If an individual is unable to supply or reply to insulin, they could develop diabetes. In these circumstances, individuals can manually administer insulin by totally different strategies, comparable to syringes, which can be found in numerous sizes.
In america, greater than individuals have diabetes. Of those, 7.4 million depend on insulin formulations to handle their blood glucose.
There are presently four main ways individuals can administer insulin: syringes, pens, pumps, and inhalers. How an individual takes insulin can differ relying on their life-style, sugar ranges, and what they eat.
Syringes ship insulin by a needle and can be found in numerous sizes to go well with totally different doses, consolation ranges, and prices.
On this article, well focus on the totally different sizes of insulin needles and syringes.
Diabetes refers to a situation that impairs the physiques means to course of blood sugar. There are several types of diabetes, however all sorts lead to irregular blood sugar levels as a result of physique not producing or utilizing a hormone referred to as insulin. This causes glucose to build up within the blood, which might trigger well being issues.
The needle on the syringe can be obtainable in numerous sizes, as they arrive in numerous lengths and gauges.
Relating to measurement, it can be crucial that folks select a size and gauge theyre snug with.
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Insulin Syringes For Pets
Insulin for pets may have different concentrations to units for humans. Your vet should be to advise you over the most appropriate syringe for use on your pet.
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Administration Of Insulin Shot:
Insulin shots can be administered subcutaneously to various sites. Patients that require daily insulin shots must alter the target spots regularly to avoid discomfort and other complications.
Arms, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs are some of the most common insulin injection sites to choose from.
- Step 1: First of all, make sure that the chosen site is clean.
- Step 2: Pinch your skin with the index finger and thumb, and enter the needle making an angle of 45° with the skin surface.
- Step 3: After entering the needle, slowly push the plunger to inject the insulin into the fat tissue.
- Step 4: Wait for five seconds and slowly remove the needle out of the skin and cover the area with a finger or thumb to avoid insulin leakage.
- Step 5: Dispose vial, syringe, and needle to a safe place to avoid any contamination or spread of any infection.
Furthermore, it is highly advisable to seek expert medical advice in case of any complications during the procedure.
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How To Dispose Of Pen Needles
These needles may be tiny, but theyre still considered hazardous medical waste and should be disposed of in official sharps containers. Local communities and states have varying disposal rules, sometimes allowing you to include these in sharps containers to put out for recycling just like insulin syringes.
You can read our DiabetesMine guide to disposing of used diabetes supplies, which includes these important tips:
- Never throw loose pen needles into the trash or directly into a recycling container.
- Put the used pen needle into a home sharps container, or something similar that follows your local rules on properly disposing of used sharps objects.
- You can clip the needle with a special needle-clipping device, such as the BD Safe-Clip. Those can be picked up your local pharmacy or ordered online.
- If you inject someone else or dispose of their pen needle, use extreme caution to avoid getting pricked, which can transmit infections.
How Do You Know What Size Insulin Syringe To Use
Insulin syringes come in multiple sizes with different needle length options.
The correct size depends on your insulin dose and your comfort level with the needle size. Its important to choose the correct size to give yourself the full dose of insulin in one shot and to avoid errors in dosing from using the wrong syringe.
You may need multiple syringes if you give different doses per day. For example, 35 units in the morning and 10 units at night means you need a 0.3-mL syringe and a 0.5-mL syringe for each dose.
Syringes also allow more flexibility if doses need to be adjusted daily based on your blood sugar levels.
If your dose is close to the maximum capacity of the syringe, you may want to go up a size to avoid problems handling the syringe.
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Patient Case Highlighting A Unique Situation
A 63-year-old, morbidly obese woman with type 2 diabetes and arthritis presented to the clinic diabetes service with an initial complaint of sporadic yet large-volume insulin leakage from her injection site while using 5-mm pen needles. She was receiving 84 units of insulin glargine twice daily. Her A1C was 7.6%, and her blood glucose log revealed wide glucose excursions . During the education visit, the patient was able to demonstrate proper injection technique . To help reduce insulin leakage, she was counseled to split the dose into two separate injections of 42 units each and provided additional education on injecting the insulin slowly and rotating the injection site.
At her follow-up visit 5 months later, she continued to report significant insulin leakage. Her glucose values continued to show wide excursions ranging from 83 to 354 mg/dL, and her A1C remained at 7.6%. The patient also complained at this visit of her injection site bubbling up immediately after the injections.
Taking her BMI into consideration, it was decided that a longer pen needle length may help prevent insulin leakage despite evidence that skin thickness is not increased in obesity . Therefore, the patient was switched to an 8-mm pen needle length.
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How Small Is Small Enough
Reducing needle size reduces pain and generally increases patient acceptance. The increasing popularity of the short, 31-gauge pen needle is a notable example. However, smaller needles are not suitable for all applications. For example, rapid delivery of large volumes and administration of formulations with large particulates require larger needles. Furthermore, scaling down needle length also prevents injection into deeper tissues. Microneedles are just long enough to deliver into the skin, which may be an advantage in some scenarios, but is a drawback in others. Moreover, as needle size approaches the dimensions of skin surface topography and mechanical deformation, microneedle insertion into the skin becomes more difficult and may, in some cases, require specialized insertion devices., Thus, there is a trade-off between pain and other delivery considerations when smaller needles are used. The correct balance must be obtained for each application. Based on current literature and applications, delivery of vaccines and protein biotherapeutics appears to be most suitable to benefit from the use of smaller needles.
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Length And Gauge Of Insulin Syringes
Insulin needs to be injected subcutaneously, that is into a layer of fat between muscle and the skin.
Insulin syringes are available in a number of needles lengths.
- A short length of needle would be less than 10mm
- A longer length of needle would be over 10mm long
Your health team can help to advise over which length of needle may be best for you.
The gauge of insulin syringes tends to be slim because of the regularity at which injections of insulin are taken.