Significance of Insulin Syringes in a life of Diabetic Patient

Living a life of a diabetic patient sounds painful but it is even more painful when you know a person close to you suffering from diabetes.

Yes, I know a close friend of mine suffering from the same ailment from the tender age of 11 years.

So, being an empathetic person, I feel responsible to share some of the very important facts about Insulin Syringes with you.

I hope it might help you or your close person who needs to read these words. So, here we go.

Insulin Syringes can be used to deliver insulin directly into the layer of fat below the skin, or they can inject insulin into a temporary “port” that sits on the skin.

The port, which is changed every 2-3 days, features a small flexible plastic tube that sits below the skin.

An insulin syringe has three parts: a needle, a barrel, and a plunger. The needle is short and thin and covered with a fine layer of silicone to allow it to pass through the skin easily and reduce pain. A cap covers and protects the needle before it is used.

Challenges faced by a diabetic patient in daily life:

Even though insulin is the most powerful therapeutic option available to control hyperglycemia, patients with diabetes experience various challenges.

Some examples are interference with daily living, financial constraints, the complexity of regimens, injection discomfort, and public embarrassment for initiating and adhering to insulin therapy.

How to properly use Insulin Syringes?

I hope you keep this in mind, so note it down my friend.

Once you have chosen the correct insulin needle for self-injection, the steps are simple to draw up the solution.

Before inserting the needle, you will need to roll the vile in your hands for several seconds. It is important to remember not to shake the vile because air bubbles can give an inaccurate reading in your syringe.

After washing your hands, carefully wipe the top of the vile with an alcohol swab. Then, you may follow these simple steps to accurately fill a needle with insulin.

1. Open the insulin needle from its packaging.
2. Twist and remove the orange cap of the needle carefully, ensuring not to touch the needle with your hands or any surfaces.
3. Carefully pull back the plunger to the amount of insulin you want to draw out. This allows you to inject enough air into the vile to withdraw the appropriate amount of insulin easily.
4. Insert the needle carefully through the rubber top of the insulin bottle and inject the air from the syringe.
5. While carefully holding the syringe in your hand (still inserted into the vile), turn both upsides down and withdraw the proper amount of insulin into the syringe by carefully pulling back on the plunger.
6. Be sure that the needle inside the vile is below the liquid level of the insulin so that you aren't drawing up lots of air.
7. If you've accidentally withdrawn an air bubble, tap the sides of the syringe until the air bubble dissipates.
8. If this doesn't work, you can re-inject the insulin into the vile and redraw the insulin while the needle is still inside. Small air bubbles are not necessarily dangerous; however, they will affect the accuracy of your dose.
9. Remove the syringe from the vile and perform the injection.
10. When finished, dispose of the needle and syringe properly.

Which Type of Syringe Must I Use?

Don’t worry, I have something new to tell you which might be your help.

There are mainly two insulin injection syringe types available for administering insulin at home. They are:

Insulin Pen Syringes

Insulin pen syringes, as the name suggests, resemble pens due to their shape and structure.

Pen syringes are growing in popularity, and many diabetic patients nowadays use a pen syringe for their insulin needs.

These pen syringes allow a more accurate, convenient, and simple delivery than the traditional vial and syringe. 

Not every diabetic person needs to administer insulin. However, those who do sometimes find sticking to an insulin schedule demanding, draining, and disruptive.

That’s why many diabetic people prefer pen syringes to make administering insulin less inconvenient and intrusive.

Disposable Syringes

An insulin pen can be a bit on the expensive side. If you can’t afford it, you will have to go with the traditional vial and needle solution.

The best option available to you is using a disposable syringe.

Disposable syringes are relatively inexpensive syringes used for insulin injection and don’t require cleaning or sterilization, as they are fit for only a single use.

Which Needle Size should I choose?

Okay, now this is a thing to note down when you choose a needle of a syringe.

Choosing the right needle size depends on two factors: the needle’s gauge and the needle’s length.

1. You must choose a gauge needle for insulin injection of the right size to ensure the proper delivery of medication.
2. If you’ve been prescribed a small dosage, you must go with a high-gauge needle as it will cause less pain while injecting. For larger doses, you will require a wider needle with a lower gauge.
3. While it may hurt more, a wider, lower gauge needle will deliver the medication much faster than a higher-gauge one.
4. As for the length, the best choice will depend on your body size and the area of needle insertion. For subcutaneous injections or injections that deliver the medication below the skin, you require a relatively shorter needle.
5. Whereas, if the medicine is to be delivered directly to a muscle, you might need a longer and much thicker needle.
6. The insulin syringes are available in economy multipacks as well as unit packs of 10 pieces. These syringes come in a double laminated plastic film or in a single unit in a ribbon pack.
7. Depending on your preference, you can choose between multipack or unit pack syringes. Both multipack and single pack syringes have the same number of syringes. The only difference is the size of the syringes.
8. Moreover, the needle’s length may also depend on your body fat percentage. If you’re on the thinner side, you might get away with using a short needle. For the ones on the heavier side, you may require a longer one.

What Happens If I Choose the Wrong Syringe Size?

Don’t worry it won’t happen, I am here to alert you in advance. So, pay attention.

Incorrect Dosage

A syringe of the wrong size can lead to incorrect dosage, which can cause many health issues, such as hyperglycemia.

Hyperglycemia refers to a condition where your body exhibits a high blood sugar level. It usually occurs in diabetic patients when their bodies can’t produce or utilize insulin.

However, hyperglycemia can also occur due to incorrect dosage arising from a smaller-sized syringe. For instance, if your prescribed dosage is 1ml, and you’re using a 0.5ml syringe, it can lead to a deficit of dosage.

Moreover, using a syringe smaller in size also means that you’ll have to inject yourself twice, which can be very painful.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis

If not treated promptly, hyperglycemia can inevitably lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, or in the worst-case, diabetic coma.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, choosing the right syringe and needle for insulin injections is a vital process, which will ensure proper dosage, prevent pain, and help you evade severe diabetic conditions such as hyperglycemia.

Moreover, along with the right equipment, it would also help if you learned the correct technique for administering insulin.

If you’re unsure about the right equipment and technique, don’t hesitate to contact your doctor. All these factors work together for the growth of the insulin syringes market

The global insulin syringes market is estimated to rise at a market growth of 4.5% CAGR during the forecast period.