How and where to best inject your insulin by the Diabetes Education Program at The Hospital
for Sick Children. This video explains how to give insulin to manage your child's diabetes.
Please note the images in this video are for illustrative purposes only
and do not constitute the hospital's endorsement of a specific brand or product.
Key points to remember. injections should be given in a clean site on the body using clean
hands. Use a new pen tip for each injection to make sure the needle is always clean. If a
needle is used, it can become dull and cause your child discomfort when they get their injections.
Always prime your pen with one to two units of insulin before injecting. You should see
some insulin squirt out of the needle tip. If you do not, then try priming your pen again.
Doing this will make sure the pen is working properly before you give an injection.
After giving an injection, remove the needle tip
and dispose of it in your sharps container before putting the needle cap back on.
Injection sites.There are four safe sites to give insulin injections. The upper outer area
of the thighs, the upper outer area of the arms, the abdomen or belly, and the buttocks.
Inserting the pen needle tip. A four millimeter needle can be inserted at
a 90-degree angle without a skin lift in adolescents and children
older than six years of age. Children six years of age and younger, as well as
some very lean older children, need a skin lift to avoid injecting the insulin into the muscle.
If using a skin lift, release it after you remove the insulin pen needle tip.
Tips for rotating injection sites. When your child is first diagnosed,
try to use a different injection site each time so your child learns all the different sites that
can be used, does not become fearful of using any of the sites, and avoids choosing a favorite site
where they frequently want the injection. If you use the same small area to give insulin many times,
the fat tissue below the skin sometimes swells. This is a condition called lipohypertrophy.
This condition creates large bumps that absorb insulin poorly and prevents it from fully working.
Too many injections into the same site may cause hard scar tissue to form under the skin.
This also affects the body's ability to absorb insulin.
Once you have given injections into the arms, thighs, abdomen, and buttocks a few times, you can create a
system that works for you to keep track of site rotation. One way to approach sight rotation is
to choose one general area and use all possible sights in that area before moving to the next.
Make sure that each injection is about an inch, or two finger widths, from the last injection.
How to make injections easier. Allow your child to choose a position of comfort.
Offer a simple choice to help your child feel in control.
For example, should we give your insulin in your arm or your leg?
Use distraction techniques such as watching a favorite show,
listening to music, or singing a favorite song. Take deep breaths.
Have your child pretend to blow out candles on a birthday cake or pretend to blow bubbles.
Once the injection is done offer praise for a job well done.
If you have questions or need further tips, please contact your diabetes team. We are here to help.
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