Injecting your insulin shot
To perform your insulin injection:
Wherever possible, wash your hands with soap and water before injecting
Put a new needle onto your pen
Perform an ‘air shot’ of at least 2 units to clear any bubbles out of the needle – if you do not get a steady stream, repeat the air shot until you do get a steady stream
Dial up your dose – how you do this exactly may depend on which pen you have
Pick a soft fatty area to inject – tops of thighs, belly, bum and triceps (not always recommended for children or thinner people)
Raise a fold of fatty flesh slightly between your thumb and fingers – leaving plenty of space between to put the needle in
Put the needle in – if you are particularly slim, you may need to put the needle in at a 45 degree angle to avoid injecting into the muscle
Push the plunger, to inject the dose, relatively slowly
After the dose has been injected, hold the needle in for a good 10 seconds to prevent too much insulin from escaping out
If any blood or insulin escapes, wipe this with cotton wool or a tissue
Ensure that the used needle into a sharps bin is deposited into a sharps bin