Giving an insulin injection to a child with diabetes
Introduction
Insulin is available only in an injectable form that is given into the fatty tissue just under the skin. Most people use insulin in an injection, or shot. While it can also be given through an insulin pump or jet injector, this information does not pertain to these devices. Get information from your child's doctor about how to use these properly.
You will need to give your child's insulin until he or she is able to give his or her own injections. Once you get over the initial anxiety, insulin injections will become a routine part of your day. It's easy to learn the basics of preparing the insulin (drawing it up into a syringe) and then injecting it. The new thinner, shorter needles on insulin syringes make injections much less uncomfortable than they used to be.
The three most important elements of success in giving insulin injections include:
- Making sure you have the right dose of insulin, especially if you are giving two types of insulin in the same syringe.
- Practicing how to give an injection.
- Storing insulin properly so that each dose will work effectively.
What is insulin and how is it given?
Why does my child need insulin?
How is insulin prepared and given?
Where to go from here
More information about children with diabetes can be found in these topics:
- Type 1 Diabetes: Recently Diagnosed
- Type 1 Diabetes: Children Living With the Disease
- Type 2 Diabetes in Children
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| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated August 14, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism | |
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