Posts Tagged ‘insulin injection’

Is It Safe To Reuse An Insulin Syringe?

September 30, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Insulin Delivery, Insulin Injections, Long Acting Insulin 
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Is it safe to reuse an insulin syringe? Bethany from California asked this question of Conditions Expert Dr. Otis Brawley on the health website CNN Health. Dr. Otis’ answer reads in part:

“Insulin syringes are expensive, and many patients want to reuse needles to save money. Many also reuse the lancets used to prick the skin and draw blood to measure blood sugar.

You are right that the reuse of insulin syringes and lancets is dangerous. A used needle can have bacteria from the skin in and on it. Bacteria can contaminate the bottle of insulin when reinserted into the bottle. The bottled insulin is a growth medium that can allow the bacteria to reproduce. Insulin is stored in a refrigerator to prevent bacterial growth. Read the full article

Woman Murders Husband with Massive Insulin Injection

September 29, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Research and News, Insulin Injections, Uncategorized 
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The prosecutor in Alicante, Spain has requested a prison term of 29 years for a woman accused of murdering her husband with a lethal insulin dose.

Fifty-one-year-old Gregoria CS, a Spanish woman on diabetes medication since 1998, was responsible for administering medication to her husband, Juan Antonio GC, diagnosed with HIV.

Gregoria allegedly first dosed her husband with insulin on March 30th, 2007 after a family row, resulting in his admission to hospital in a hypoglycemic crisis. He remained in hospital for a month.

On a second occasion on June 28th, 2010, she injected her sleeping husband in the neck with a massive dose using three insulin pens, and when he woke up smothered his cries for help with a pillow.

The next morning the couple’s children raised the alarm when their father would not wake up. He was transferred to hospital in Elche with severe hypoglycemia and was stabilized, but remained in a vegetative state until his death on February 4th, 2011.

The woman had accused her husband of psychological abuse. The prosecutor’s requested term of imprisonment comprises 11 years for the first murder attempt and 18 years for the second.

From the online newspaper, RoundTownNews.

Overcoming Injection Anxiety

September 20, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Control, Diabetes Medication, Insulin Delivery, Insulin Injections 
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Have you or someone close to you been newly diagnosed as an insulin dependent diabetic? Are you anxious about giving yourself or your dependent insulin injections? Many diabetics say that giving themselves an insulin injection is the hardest part of the condition.

Or perhaps you’re an experienced diabetic who hasn’t kept up to date on the latest insulin delivery methods like spring loaded syringes, insulin pens and insulin jet injectors. Skipping doses of diabetes medication can lead to poor blood sugar control and diabetes complications. WebMD feature writer Stephanie Watson offers some practical advice in an article titled Overcoming Objections to Injections.

Diabetic Emergency: Treating Hypoglycemia with Glucagon

September 19, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Control, Diabetes in Children, Diabetes Medication 
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glucagon kit

Photo Credit: Intropin

Like insulin, glucagon is a hormone made in the pancreas. But the two hormones have opposite effects – insulin lowers blood sugar, while glucagon raises it. This means glucagon can be used to treat an episode of severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in diabetics.

Severe hypoglycemia is rare in most insulin dependent diabetics, but can cause a loss of consciousness and should be considered a medical emergency. Type 1 diabetics are advised to have a glucagon kit on or near them at all times, as are the parents and caregivers of children with diabetes.

About.com diabetes coach Gary Gilles has written a valuable guide to treating severe low blood sugar with glucagon, describing when and how glucagon should be used. Glucagon is administered as an injection, but unlike an insulin injection, it should be injected deep into the muscle.

To read Gilles’ article on About.com, >Click Here.<

Insulin Jet Injectors Evolving

September 12, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Medication, Insulin Delivery, Insulin Injections 
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VitaJet Insulin Jet Injector

Despite lackluster success to date, the market research firm Kalorama is predicting that the worldwide market for jet injectors will double over the next five years. Jet injectors are a needleless drug delivery system that distribute a fine jet of medication under such high pressure that it is able to penetrate the skin.

“Needle-free devices have come a long way to the present state and are playing an increasingly important role in the novel drug delivery technology markets,” Kalorama drug delivery analyst Mary Anne Crandall wrote in a report titled Needle-Free Drug Delivery Markets. She predicts that their ease of use, safety and cost effectiveness, combined with evolving technology, will result in a future boom in jet injector sales. Read the full article

Giving Your Cat Insulin Injections

March 14, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes in Dogs and Cats, Insulin Delivery 
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cat in gardenIf you have experience with feline diabetes you know how hard it can be to watch your furry family member suffer through weakness, vet appointments, diet changes and, possibly the most challenging of all, insulin injections. Knowledge of proper cat insulin injection techniques can make your life and your cat’s life easier. If you have any questions or concerns talk to your vet.

Prepare the Insulin

  • Start by filling the insulin syringe slightly more than your cat’s dose
  • Tap the insulin syringe to remove air bubbles
  • Slowly push the plunger until you have the correct dosage of insulin in the syringe

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Six Warning Signs of Diabetic Ketoacidosis

February 22, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diabetes Control, Diabetes in Children, It's Complicated 
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Photo credit: bubbels

Ketoacidosis is a diabetic emergency which occurs as a result of a lack of insulin. Without insulin, the body is unable to use sugar for energy.  Unable to use sugar, the body burns its fat stores for energy.

As the fat is broken down, byproducts called ketones are released, building up in the blood and urine. Ketones are acid waste products, and are dangerous at high levels. Blood sugar rises as the liver produces more glucose in an attempt to fuel the body, causing further acidity.
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Super Long Acting Insulin Developed in India

January 25, 2011 by · 5 Comments
Filed under: Diabetes - Did You Know?, Diabetes Medication, Insulin Injections, Long Acting Insulin 
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man with syringe

Photo credit: RDJ

Scientists from India’s National Immunology Institute (NII) have developed a new long-acting insulin that can control blood sugar in animals for up to 120 days with a single insulin injection. In contrast, the most effective long-acting insulin on the market today is only effective for a maximum of 18 hours.

The new diabetes medication, dubbed supramolecular insulin assembly-II, or SIA-II, is a “prodrug – a drug administered in an inactive form that becomes active after being administered. Prodrugs are generally better absorbed, distributed, and metabolized than active drugs.
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