What is the Best Place to Inject Insulin for Diabetics

[Suryaprakash]

If you are suffering from type 2 diabetes and find it important to take doses of insulin then first know which will be the right place to inject the doses. It is important because majority of the patients consider it difficult to adjust with the process of taking injection and finally avoid taking insulin that can be fatal. However, experts from American Diabetes Association (ADA) consider that there is no such particular site to choose for injecting insulin. These experts and others suggest some parts of the body and ask patients to choose from these where they feel comfort to take the injections. At the same time, it is necessary to develop a technique of taking injection to avoid pain. Here we will learn many such important facts about injecting insulin in individuals.

The Simple Way:

We have already said that it is not good to choose a particular body part to take insulin injections at daily basis. This not only stiffens that place but also cause abnormal pain that is hard to tolerate. Better, you follow a simple method to choose different spots to inject insulin and rotate around these body parts at interval. Generally, patients feel comfortable to take insulin injection in abdomen portion. If you also prefer this site, then keep rotating the injection throughout abdomen portion so that lumps can’t develop. Moreover, try to avoid taking injection around the belly button.

Some of the patients on the other hand found it more comfortable to rotate through different sites of the body instead of taking injections on abdomen portion only. In that case, you have to keep this site consistent and have to take injection on that spot only at regular basis. Try to take morning injection on thigh portion, noontime injection on upper arm portion and the evening injection on abdomen portion. This practice helps you to adjust with the process very soon.

Think before you Inject:

Prior selecting a site to inject insulin you must consider a few facts. First, make it sure that fatty tissue is present on the site because this will help the dose to neutralize easily. Then consider how many times you need to take insulin injections in day and finally find out accessibility of the site. Considering all these issues, choose a site where you can take injection more than once without feeling pain and where lumps do not form easily. That is why most of the patients choose outer thigh portion, backside of arm, upper buttock portion to take insulin injections.

Other Important Facts:

Injecting insulin on arm, abdomen or buttock portion is better as more fatty tissues are found in these sites. The outer thigh portion is also serving the same purpose. Reaching these sites is quite easier and here you have subcutaneous fat in ample amount that help insulin to work faster. Injecting insulin in the mentioned areas also lessens the risk of injecting the medicine too nearer to large nerve or blood vessels. However, you must keep record of the site rotation to avoid delayed absorption and lump forming.

By: Murali V

The author is a pharmacist and presently working as drug quality controller linked with a multinational company.