Patient/caregiver was instructed upon precautions to be observed while taking insulin as follows:
- If you are administering rapid acting insulin, your blood sugar levels can fall in a short span. So, compliance with eating a meal or snack in about 30 minutes of insulin administration can help prevent dangerous hypoglycemic episodes. So, diabetic individuals receiving rapid acting insulins must have their meal or snack handy before the shot is administered, to be consumed at the recommended time.
- If you are using mixed insulins or NPH insulins, they are cloudy and need to be mixed before administered. So, roll the insulin vial or insulin pen between your palms gently for 10 – 15 seconds to mix the medication well. If you are prescribed clear insulins, this step could be skipped.
- Load the appropriate/recommended dose of insulin into the insulin syringe or pen. Remember to prime the syringe or pen to remove any air bubbles and be sure the appropriate dose is loaded. Diabetic individuals with compromised vision can double check with their caregivers regarding the dose of insulin loaded into the syringe. This helps to avoid any incidents of insulin underdosing or overdosing.
- Diabetic individuals must maintain their personal set of glucometer, lancing device, lancets, insulin syringes/pens, and needles. Sharing of needles and lancets between friends and family can increase risk for transmission of blood borne pathogens. Sharing the glucometer between diabetic patients can pose difficulty with tracking the history of an individual’s blood sugar readings, as readings from many different individuals are stored on the same machine.
