Why pinch skin when injecting insulin

Push the plunger all the way down and wait for 10 seconds. With smaller needles, the pinching process may not be needed. You may notice minor bleeding after the injection. If so, apply light pressure to the area with gauze and cover it with a bandage if necessary. In the United States, people use more than 3 billion needles and syringes each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These products are a risk to other people and should be disposed of properly.

Regulations vary by location. Before beginning insulin therapy, your doctor or health educator will show you the ropes. Read this article in Spanish. Insulin is a hormone that helps cells use glucose sugar for energy. Diabetes is normally managed with diet and exercise, with medications, including insulin, added as needed. If you have type 1 diabetes, injecting insulin is required for life.

This may seem difficult at first, but you can learn to successfully administer insulin with the support of your healthcare team, determination, and a little practice. Insulin syringes come in multiple sizes to deliver different doses of insulin.

We explain what insulin sizes mean, how to choose the correct size for…. People with type 2 diabetes may not produce enough, or any, insulin. They often benefit from taking long-acting insulin, which mimics the action of…. When a medication is injected directly into muscle, it is called an intramuscular injection IM.

The Z-track method of IM is used to prevent tracking…. An intramuscular injection is a technique used to deliver a medication deep into the muscles. This allows the medication to be absorbed quickly. The singer and actor shares why using the "time in range" metric to help manage his type 1 diabetes has been a "life-changing" discovery. The risk factors for type 2 diabetes are complex and range from genetic to environmental to lifestyle choices. Learn more.

My diagnosis was a wake-up call. It was time to take care of my health. Learn more about its symptoms, causes, and treatment. I learned that the best type 2 diabetes diet is the one that works for you. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Pull air into the syringe by pulling back on the plunger until its black tip is even with the line showing the dose you'll need. Note: This information is for educational purposes only. For specific guidance on giving an insulin injection, talk with your doctor.

Turn the insulin bottle and syringe upside down. To pull insulin into the syringe, slowly pull back on the plunger until the top of its black tip is even with the line showing your dose. The most common places to inject insulin are the abdomen belly , the back of the upper arms, the upper buttocks, and the outer thighs.

Choose a place to make the injection, and wipe the skin with an alcohol swab. Gently pinch the skin. Commonly used sites are the tummy area, thighs and buttocks — the tummy area is the preferred one.

When injecting in your tummy area, it should be about 1 cm away from your belly button. A 4 mm needle can be injected at 90 degrees without a pinch or skin fold in most people with diabetes.

It is recommended that skin on your stomach should only be pinched and the needle injected into the skin fold at a 90 degree angle the photo shows the angle in the following groups of people:. When injecting insulin, you need to move injection sites so your skin doesn't get lumpy.

Lumpy skin is a build-up of fat under your skin caused by injecting into the same site. Lumpy skin can affect how your body absorbs insulin and can lead to different blood glucose levels.