Diabetes and Your Skin
Diabetes and Your Skin
The key to keep insulin shots from causing skin problems is to rotate the place where you give them, Hudson and Hatipoglu say. If you use a syringe or pen, pick a new spot an inch or so away from the last one each time. If you use an insulin pump, rotate spots every 2 to 3 days. To prevent infection, wash your hands and the skin area first.
Kindelan, the retired nurse who's been injecting insulin for most of her adult life, says it has helped her avoid skin problems. "I've never had them," she says. Though she has a bit of scarring, Kindelan says, "you just don't use those sites if that happens. I take four injections a day, so I rotate sites."
Hatipoglu and Hudson also advise injecting insulin in different parts of the body. How fast your body will absorb it depends on the area you use -- such as the stomach, hips, thighs, arms, or buttocks.
"In the summer, I tend not to use my legs," Kindelan says. "I think everybody feels kind of weird about using their stomach, and I avoided it for a while. Then it just seemed like too much prime territory, and it wasn't going to show. It's decidedly the most painless of all areas."
Diabetes and Your Skin
Prevent Skin Problems From Insulin Shots
The key to keep insulin shots from causing skin problems is to rotate the place where you give them, Hudson and Hatipoglu say. If you use a syringe or pen, pick a new spot an inch or so away from the last one each time. If you use an insulin pump, rotate spots every 2 to 3 days. To prevent infection, wash your hands and the skin area first.
Kindelan, the retired nurse who's been injecting insulin for most of her adult life, says it has helped her avoid skin problems. "I've never had them," she says. Though she has a bit of scarring, Kindelan says, "you just don't use those sites if that happens. I take four injections a day, so I rotate sites."
Hatipoglu and Hudson also advise injecting insulin in different parts of the body. How fast your body will absorb it depends on the area you use -- such as the stomach, hips, thighs, arms, or buttocks.
"In the summer, I tend not to use my legs," Kindelan says. "I think everybody feels kind of weird about using their stomach, and I avoided it for a while. Then it just seemed like too much prime territory, and it wasn't going to show. It's decidedly the most painless of all areas."
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