Insulin Injection Techniques

In thinking about proper insulin injection techniques, you’ll need to assess each client or patient to make sure that they are following good procedures. You need to be able to educate them in the proper procedure, and then assess them by watching them to make sure that they do the following things each time they inject their own insulin, that they’re following the proper technique for their own safety and health and good.

Let’s go over those proper insulin injection techniques right now. These are the things that you want to look for to educate them about, and then look for as they’re doing it to make sure they’re getting it right. The first thing you want to check for is: Does the client wash their hands prior to beginning? You want to make sure, since they’re doing an injection, that they’re not going to be introducing any sort of pathogens or infectious substances.

Therefore, it’s important that their hands are clean before they begin handling any of the other things, the insulin vial, that which is used to inject the insulin. Basically, they want to be clean first. Do they begin by washing their hands before starting? Second: Before they begin, do they check the vial?

Reading the label to make sure that they have the proper insulin, that the type is correct, the expiration date has not been passed, the insulin is free of sedimentation, frosting, or other signs of contamination before they begin, do they actually check the insulin vial to make sure everything is okay?

Once they’ve wash their hands and checked the vial, then proper technique indicates that they need to cleanse the top of the vial with alcohol in order, once again, to remove any problems with pathogens or contamination that might lead to infection. They’ve cleaned their own hands, they verified that the vial is correct, not expired, has no contamination in it, and then they’ve cleansed the top of the vial itself before they’ve begun.

Next: Does the client-do you notice them injecting air into the vial equal to the amount to be withdrawn? They’ve once again taken the plunger and pulled it back sufficiently, injected air into the vial equal to the amount that is then to be withdrawn in insulin. They inject the proper amount of air. Watch them to make sure that their measurement of the amount needed and their draw is accurate. Do they measure and draw the appropriate amount of insulin?

Next: Do they do a proper job of selecting the proper site in order to inject the insulin? Site selection needs to be subcutaneous and there needs to be a site rotation system in use. For subcutaneous injection, do they do a good job of selecting the appropriate site and do they have a rotation a site rotation plan in effect?

Next: Once they’ve selected the proper site, do they properly administer the injections subcutaneously? For most people, this involves pinching a folding skin, grasping a fold of skin, and then injecting at a 90-degree angle. Now, if they happen to be particularly thin as a person, then a 45-degree angle would be best. For most people, grabbing a fold a skin and injecting at a 90-degree angle.

They’ve wash their hands, they’ve checked the vial, they’ve cleansed the top, they’ve injected air sufficiently, they’ve measured and drawn appropriately, they’ve done a good job of selecting the site, and then they have also properly administered the subcutaneous insulin injection. Finally, the thing to assess is: Do they properly dispose of a sharp waste?

Do they know how to do that and have they done that? These things need to be kept in mind for the safety of the client, as well as their health. In assessing insulin injection technique, these things need to be adhered to and kept in mind.