Insulin syringes. Types and characteristics of insulin syringes

Instead of a regular syringe, diabetics must give injections with a special one. An insulin syringe is designed to simplify injections, reduce pain and more accurately calculate the amount of drug administered. To choose a suitable injection device, you need to know about the design features and rules of use.

The whole truth about insulin syringes

Types of devices: and immediately about the advantages

By type of pointed instrument

Insulin syringes feature needles, markings, smaller size and smooth piston action. They come in two varieties according to the type of needles:

• with removable;
• with built-in.

The advantage of the first type is that you can use a thick needle to take the medicine from the bottle, and use a thin one for the injection itself. The design of the second type is different in that the piercing component is not detachable. This allows you to get rid of the “dead zone” (remnants of the hormone after the previous injection), which increases the accuracy of the dosage and minimizes the risks of complications.

Insulin pens

A pen syringe can be used to administer a more precise dose of the drug.

The dosage of the drug is set directly on them, and insulin is taken from special cartridges, which allows you to inject the drug in different conditions, and not just at home. The dosage when using these devices is much more accurate, and the pain during injections is almost imperceptible. are divided into 2 types: disposable and reusable. In disposable ones, an empty container with the drug cannot be replaced with a new one. This pen is enough for about 20 injections. In reusable ones, the expired cartridge is replaced with a new one.

Pen syringes also have disadvantages: they are expensive, and the cartridges differ for different models, which complicates the purchase.

Labeling and dosage calculation

The division on the syringe scale depends on the concentration of insulin that is best used with it: U40 or U100 (contain 40 or 100 U/ml). Devices for the drug U40 have an indicator of 20 units at the 0.5 ml mark, and at the 1 ml level - 40 units. Syringes for insulin U100 have a reading of 50 units per half milliliter, and 100 units per 1 ml. Using an instrument with incorrect markings is unacceptable: if you draw insulin with a concentration of 40 U/ml into a U100 syringe, the final dose of the hormone will be 2.5 times higher than required, which is dangerous for the health and life of a diabetic. Therefore, you need to make sure that the scale corresponds to the concentration of the drug being administered. You can distinguish the devices by the index on the body and the color of the protective cap - on U40 syringes it is orange, and on U100 it is red.

Nuances when choosing an insulin syringe: what to look for

When purchasing, it is better to give preference to a tool with a built-in needle.

To choose a good insulin syringe, you need to take into account the scale pitch and the type of needles used. The low division price does not minimize the error in dosage selection. Good syringes have a scale of 0.25 units. In addition, the markings should not be easily erased from the walls of the housing. The best needles are on syringes, where they are built-in, and their minimal thickness and length reduces pain during injections. It is important to consider that the non-removable piercing instrument is hypoallergenic, has a silicone coating and is triple laser sharpened.

Which needle is best?

Small needles are used for insulin injections. Their length is 4-8 mm, and their diameter is 0.23 and 0.33 mm. To choose the right needle, the characteristics of the skin and the stage of treatment are taken into account. Needles 4-5 mm long are suitable for children, adolescents or those who have just started insulin therapy and are learning how to inject correctly. Thicker needles (5-6 mm) are suitable for adults or obese people. If the needle is incorrectly selected, there is a risk of insulin getting into the muscle tissue. Intramuscular injections are ineffective due to the uneven distribution of the drug into the body. It should be remembered that the shorter the needle and the smaller its diameter, the less discomfort during the injection.

Needles with a length of 8 mm are inappropriate for use even by an obese diabetic.

Today, the cheapest and most common option for administering insulin into the body is the use of disposable syringes.

Due to the fact that less concentrated solutions of the hormone were previously produced, 1 ml contained 40 units of insulin, so in the pharmacy you could find syringes designed for a concentration of 40 units/ml.

Today, 1 ml of solution contains 100 units of insulin; appropriate insulin syringes of 100 units/ml are used for its administration.

Since both types of syringes are currently available for sale, it is important for diabetics to carefully understand the dosage and be able to correctly calculate the administered rate.

Otherwise, if they are used incorrectly, severe hypoglycemia may occur.

Markup features

So that diabetics can easily navigate, a graduation is applied to the insulin syringe, which corresponds to the concentration of the hormone in the bottle. Moreover, each marking division on the cylinder indicates the number of units, not milliliters of solution.

So, if a syringe is intended for a concentration of U40, on the marking where 0.5 ml is usually indicated, the indicator is 20 units; at the level of 1 ml, 40 units are indicated.

In this case, one insulin unit is 0.025 ml of the hormone. Thus, the U100 syringe has a reading of 100 units instead of 1 ml, and 50 units at the level of 0.5 ml.

For diabetes mellitus, it is important to use an insulin syringe only at the required concentration. To use insulin 40 units/ml you should buy a U40 syringe, and for 100 units/ml you need to use the corresponding U100 syringe.

What happens if you use the wrong insulin syringe? For example, if a solution with a concentration of 40 units/ml is drawn into a U100 syringe, instead of the expected 20 units, only 8 will be obtained, which is more than half the required dosage. Similarly, when using a U40 syringe and a solution of 100 units/ml, instead of the required dose of 20 units, 50 units will be drawn.

So that diabetics can accurately determine the required amount of insulin, the developers came up with an identification mark that can be used to distinguish one type of insulin syringe from another.

In particular, the U40 syringe, sold today in pharmacies, has a red protective cap, and the U 100 has an orange protective cap.

Insulin syringe pens, which are designed for a concentration of 100 units/ml, are similarly graduated. Therefore, in the event of a device failure, it is important to take this feature into account and purchase only U 100 syringes from the pharmacy.

Otherwise, if the wrong choice is made, a severe overdose is possible, which can lead to coma and even death of the patient.

Therefore, it is better to purchase a set of necessary tools in advance, which will always be kept at hand, and protect yourself from danger.

Needle length features

To avoid mistakes in dosage, it is also important to choose needles of the right length. As you know, they come in removable and non-removable types.

Today they are produced in lengths of 8 and 12.7 mm. They are not made shorter, since some insulin bottles still have thick stoppers.

Also, needles have a certain thickness, which is indicated by the symbol G with a number. The diameter of the needle determines how painful the insulin will be injected. When using thinner needles, the injection on the skin is practically not felt.

Determining the division price

Today you can buy an insulin syringe at the pharmacy, the volume of which is 0.3, 0.5 and 1 ml. The exact capacity can be found by looking at the back of the package.

Most often, diabetics use 1 ml syringes for insulin therapy, which can have three types of scales:

• Consisting of 40 units;
• Consisting of 100 units;
• Graduated in milliliters.

In some cases, syringes may be sold that are marked with two scales at once.

How is the division price determined?

The first step is to find out how much the total volume of the syringe is; these figures are usually indicated on the packaging.

In this case, only the intervals are counted. For example, for a U40 syringe the calculation is ¼=0.25 ml, and for U100 - 1/10=0.1 ml. If the syringe has millimeter graduations, no calculations are required, since the number placed indicates the volume.

After this, the volume of the small division is determined. For this purpose, you need to count the number of all small divisions between one large one. Next, the previously calculated volume of the large division is divided by the number of small ones.

After the calculations have been made, you can dial the required amount of insulin.

How to calculate dosage

The insulin hormone is available in standard packages and is dosed in biological units of action, which are designated as units. Typically, one 5 ml bottle contains 200 units of the hormone. If you make calculations, it turns out that 1 ml of solution contains 40 units of medicine.

Insulin administration is best done using a special insulin syringe, which indicates divisions in units. When using standard syringes, it is necessary to carefully calculate how many units of the hormone are included in each division.

To do this, you need to remember that 1 ml contains 40 units, based on this, you need to divide this figure by the number of divisions.

So, with one division reading 2 units, the syringe is filled eight divisions to inject 16 units of insulin into the patient. Similarly, with an indicator of 4 units, four divisions are filled with the hormone.

One vial of insulin is intended for multiple use. The unused solution is stored in the refrigerator on a shelf, but it is important that the medicine does not freeze. When using long-acting insulin, before drawing it into the syringe, shake the bottle until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.

After removing from the refrigerator, the solution must be warmed to room temperature by keeping it indoors for half an hour.

How to take the medicine correctly

After the syringe, needle and tweezers are sterilized, the water is carefully drained. While the instruments are cooling, the aluminum cap is removed from the bottle and the stopper is wiped with an alcohol solution.

After this, the syringe is removed and assembled using tweezers, but you must not touch the piston and tip with your hands. After assembly, a thick needle is installed and the remaining water is removed by pressing the piston.

The piston needs to be installed just above the desired mark. The needle pierces the rubber stopper, descends 1-1.5 cm deep and the remaining air in the syringe is squeezed into the bottle. After this, the needle rises up along with the bottle and insulin is drawn 1-2 divisions more than the required dosage.

The needle is pulled out of the plug and removed, and a new thin needle is installed in its place using tweezers. To remove air, you need to slightly press the piston, after which two drops of solution should drain from the needle. When all the manipulations are done, you can safely inject insulin.

Today, the essence of the only course of treatment for diabetes mellitus (DM) is lifelong injections of a hormone that transports sugar into the body's cells (insulin). For this reason, diabetics need to know what types of insulin syringes there are, and also understand its volume, for example, how many ml are in u 40 and u 100 and what is the difference between them, only a few know.

It is worth noting that information about this is quite easy to find on the Internet and, if possible, you can go for a consultation with an endocrinologist. As for insulin itself, it has many names and you can look at the types of hormone in this photo:

A syringe is a medical instrument for introducing liquid into the human body or removing biomaterial from it. It consists of a container, a piston that creates pressure and a needle. As for the types of insulin syringes, we can distinguish glass and plastic.

At the same time, a glass insertion tool is used quite rarely, because it requires constant processing and is quite difficult to make for insertion. In turn, the plastic version most often has a built-in needle and allows you to fully inject the drug without leaving residues inside the container.

A syringe made of plastic can be used more than once, but it is advisable to treat it with alcohol or another antiseptic solution before use.

As for the divisions on the insulin syringe, it will take a long time to get used to them, because not everyone can understand how many units of insulin there will be in 1-3 ml. To do this, you will have to study the formula for calculating volume.

Currently, in the post-Soviet space, bottles labeled U-40 (40 units/ml) and U-100 (100 units/ml) are used. The first type of insulin syringe can hold 40 units of insulin per 1 ml. The hormone is calculated as follows:

• 1 ml of hormone = 40 units;
• 0.5 ml of hormone = 20 units;
• 0.25 ml of hormone = 10 units.

It follows from this that 1 unit will be equal to 0.025 ml of the hormone. Thus, other indicators can be calculated, for example, 3 ml of the hormone will contain 120 units, respectively. In addition, for some people it is important not only how much insulin in milliliters is placed in an insulin syringe, but in milligrams and the following calculation can be used to calculate:

• 1 ml = 1000 mg;
• U-40 = 1 ml = 1000 mg
• U-100 = 2.5 ml = 2500 mg.

It is worth noting the features of calculating divisions on a U-40 syringe (graduation):

• 4 divisions = 0.1 ml;
• 20 divisions = 0.5 ml;
• 40 divisions = 1 ml.

Thus, according to the insulin division units drawn on the syringe, you can calculate how much solution is needed for injection. You can see the insulin type U-40 syringe in this photo:

If the hormone is labeled U-100, then the calculation is carried out differently. In this case, 100 units. insulin is contained in 1 ml of solution, which means you will need special insulin syringes. Outwardly, U-100 is no different from U-40, but the drawn scale of divisions is useful only in the case of a certain concentration of the drug and the amount of hormone can be calculated using the following formula:

From this it turns out that insulin syringes made for diabetics labeled U-100 (100 units) contain 2.5 times more insulin than U-40, therefore, this must be taken into account when injecting. For convenience, you can remember this formula:

• U-40 = 1 ml = 40 units;
• U-100 = 0.4 = 40 units.

Sick people need to remember that the dose of the hormone prescribed by the doctor does not change, but only the volume of insulin administered becomes less. You can see such a syringe for insulin in this photo:

Drug recruitment process

Most experts advise purchasing syringes with a non-removable needle, since the pain will be felt significantly less during the injection process. In addition, there is no so-called “dead zone” where the medicine can enter, so the injection is carried out in full.

It is worth noting that due to current prices, not many people can afford to use syringes only once, especially for pensioners. For this reason, many patients with diabetes use it 2 or more times. Experts on this matter said that in general this can be done, but you need to follow all hygiene standards and put the syringe back in the box after the injection. At the same time, you need to remember that you should not use it more than 2 times, as the needle begins to become dull, and this will cause discomfort when injecting the drug.

Learning to use an insulin syringe is not difficult if you know all the intricacies of performing the injection, because the final result will depend on them. First you need to treat the lid of the bottle containing the insulin, and this must be done carefully, because shaking the contents is not always necessary. For a medicine with a short and fast effect, this is prohibited, but for a medicine with a delayed effect, it must be shaken well before use.

The set of the drug also has its own subtleties, because first you need to pull the piston to the desired division, and then pierce the stopper of the bottle and release air into it. Next, you need to turn it over and start collecting the hormone. There are situations when air gets inside the container through the needle, and to remove it it will be enough to tap the syringe a little and release a little of the drug. For this reason, doctors advise taking a little more medicine than needed.

Before the injection, the place where it will be placed needs to be treated with alcohol, but due to the excessively dry skin of diabetics, it is better to use warm water and detergent for this. As for the injection itself, it is performed at an angle of 45 or 75°, because the drug can enter the muscle instead of the subcutaneous tissue and there will be no effect.

After administering the hormone, the syringe must be held in place for 10-15 seconds, and only then the needle must be removed. This must be done so that the drug is well absorbed and the maximum effect is achieved.

You can see what actions are performed and how the injection is given in this video:

Syringe pen

Doctors are trying in every way to make the lives of people suffering from diabetes easier, and an insulin syringe pen, or as it is also called a pencil, is perfect for insulin injections and can simplify the injection procedure. Inside this device there is a special cartridge in which the drug is stored, which allows you to forget about carrying bags with syringes, bottles, etc. You can see the syringe pen in this photo:

The obvious advantages of a pen syringe include:

• Insulin dosage is more convenient, since the pen syringe has increments of 1 unit, while a simple syringe usually has increments of 2 units;
• Due to its volume, the sleeve does not need to be changed frequently;
• The insertion of the needle is usually not particularly felt;
• New types of pen syringes make it possible to use many different types of insulin;
• The needle in a pen syringe is always thinner than even the most expensive conventional syringe.

The injection can be given not only in the stomach, but also in any accessible place, which greatly simplifies the procedure. You can see how to use a syringe pen to inject insulin in this video:

Types of needles for syringes

To prevent the injection from being painful and to avoid accidentally getting into muscle tissue, you must carefully select the needle for injection. Doctors advise to avoid unpleasant sensations by focusing on the following sizes:

• Length – 4-8 mm;
• Thickness - up to 0.33 mm.

Thus, the smaller the needle size, the less painful the injection will be, especially if the injection is given to a child. You can see their real size in this photo:

Cost of syringes and consumables

As for how much an insulin syringe costs on average, you can see approximate prices below:

• Simple syringe 80 rub. 10 pieces.;
• Insulin syringe pen RUB 1,700-2,100;
• Needles for simple syringes 380-420 rub. 100 pieces.;
• Needles for syringe pens 43o-460 rub. 100 pieces.

Injecting insulin is a very important procedure for people with diabetes, so every diabetic should be able to choose the right insulin syringe for injection and know how it is performed.

Today, pharmacies sell both types of devices (syringes), so every person with diabetes should know their differences and how to put medicine into them.

Graduation on an insulin syringe

Every person with diabetes must know how to properly draw insulin into a syringe. To accurately calculate the dose of the drug, insulin syringes are “equipped” with special divisions showing the concentration of the substance in one vial.

At the same time, the graduation on the syringes does not indicate how much solution has been drawn, but shows the unit of insulin. For example, if you take the drug at a concentration of U40, the actual value of the UI (unit of measurement) is 0.15 ml. will be 6 units, 05 ml. - 20 units. And the unit itself is 1 ml. will be equal to 40 units. Thus, one unit of solution will be 0.025 ml of insulin.

It should also be taken into account that the difference between U100 and U40 is that in the first case the insulin syringes are 1 ml. are one hundred units, 0.25 ml - 25 units, 0.1 ml - 10 units. With such significant differences (concentration and volume) of syringes, let's figure out how to choose the right version of this device for a diabetic.

Naturally, the first step to choosing an insulin syringe should be a consultation with your doctor. Also, if you need to administer a concentration of 40 units of hormone in 1 ml, you should use U40 syringes. In other cases, you should buy devices like U100.

In the initial stages of the disease, diabetics often ask the question “what will happen if they use the wrong syringe to inject insulin?” For example, by drawing the drug into a U100 syringe for a solution with a concentration of 40 units/ml, a person suffering from diabetes will inject eight units of insulin into the body instead of the required twenty units, which is half the required dose of the medicine!

And if a U40 syringe is taken and a solution of concentration of 100 units/ml is drawn into it, then instead of twenty units of the hormone the patient will receive twice as much (50 units)! This is very dangerous for the life of a diabetic!

Today, the cheapest and most common option for administering insulin into the body is the use of disposable syringes.

Due to the fact that less concentrated solutions of the hormone were previously produced, 1 ml contained 40 units of insulin, so in the pharmacy you could find syringes designed for a concentration of 40 units/ml.

Today, 1 ml of solution contains 100 units of insulin; appropriate insulin syringes of 100 units/ml are used for its administration.

Since both types of syringes are currently available for sale, it is important for diabetics to carefully understand the dosage and be able to correctly calculate the administered rate.

Otherwise, if they are used incorrectly, severe hypoglycemia may occur.

Markup features

So that diabetics can easily navigate, a graduation is applied to the insulin syringe, which corresponds to the concentration of the hormone in the bottle. Moreover, each marking division on the cylinder indicates the number of units, not milliliters of solution.

So, if a syringe is intended for a concentration of U40, on the marking where 0.5 ml is usually indicated, the indicator is 20 units; at the level of 1 ml, 40 units are indicated.

In this case, one insulin unit is 0.025 ml of the hormone. Thus, the U100 syringe has a reading of 100 units instead of 1 ml, and 50 units at the level of 0.5 ml.

For diabetes mellitus, it is important to use an insulin syringe only at the required concentration. To use insulin 40 units/ml you should buy a U40 syringe, and for 100 units/ml you need to use the corresponding U100 syringe.

What happens if you use the wrong insulin syringe? For example, if a solution with a concentration of 40 units/ml is drawn into a U100 syringe, instead of the expected 20 units, only 8 will be obtained, which is more than half the required dosage. Similarly, when using a U40 syringe and a solution of 100 units/ml, instead of the required dose of 20 units, 50 units will be drawn.

So that diabetics can accurately determine the required amount of insulin, the developers came up with an identification mark that can be used to distinguish one type of insulin syringe from another.

In particular, the U40 syringe, sold today in pharmacies, has a red protective cap, and the U 100 has an orange protective cap.

Insulin syringe pens, which are designed for a concentration of 100 units/ml, are similarly graduated. Therefore, in the event of a device failure, it is important to take this feature into account and purchase only U 100 syringes from the pharmacy.

Otherwise, if the wrong choice is made, a severe overdose is possible, which can lead to coma and even death of the patient.

Therefore, it is better to purchase a set of necessary tools in advance, which will always be kept at hand, and protect yourself from danger.

Needle length features

To avoid mistakes in dosage, it is also important to choose needles of the right length. As you know, they come in removable and non-removable types.

Today, insulin needles are available in lengths of 8 and 12.7 mm. They are not made shorter, since some insulin bottles still have thick stoppers.

Also, needles have a certain thickness, which is indicated by the symbol G with a number. The diameter of the needle determines how painful the insulin will be injected. When using thinner needles, the injection on the skin is practically not felt.

Determining the division price

Today you can buy an insulin syringe at the pharmacy, the volume of which is 0.3, 0.5 and 1 ml. The exact capacity can be found by looking at the back of the package.

Most often, diabetics use 1 ml syringes for insulin therapy, which can have three types of scales:

• Consisting of 40 units;
• Consisting of 100 units;
• Graduated in milliliters.

In some cases, syringes may be sold that are marked with two scales at once.

How is the division price determined?

The first step is to find out how much the total volume of the syringe is; these figures are usually indicated on the packaging.

In this case, only the intervals are counted. For example, for a U40 syringe the calculation is ¼=0.25 ml, and for U100 - 1/10=0.1 ml. If the syringe has millimeter graduations, no calculations are required, since the number placed indicates the volume.

After this, the volume of the small division is determined. For this purpose, you need to count the number of all small divisions between one large one. Next, the previously calculated volume of the large division is divided by the number of small ones.

After the calculations have been made, you can dial the required amount of insulin.

How to calculate dosage

The insulin hormone is available in standard packages and is dosed in biological units of action, which are designated as units. Typically, one 5 ml bottle contains 200 units of the hormone. If you make calculations, it turns out that 1 ml of solution contains 40 units of medicine.

Insulin administration is best done using a special insulin syringe, which indicates divisions in units. When using standard syringes, it is necessary to carefully calculate how many units of the hormone are included in each division.

To do this, you need to remember that 1 ml contains 40 units, based on this, you need to divide this figure by the number of divisions.

So, with one division reading 2 units, the syringe is filled eight divisions to inject 16 units of insulin into the patient. Similarly, with an indicator of 4 units, four divisions are filled with the hormone.

One vial of insulin is intended for multiple use. The unused solution is stored in the refrigerator on a shelf, but it is important that the medicine does not freeze. When using long-acting insulin, before drawing it into the syringe, shake the bottle until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.

After removing from the refrigerator, the solution must be warmed to room temperature by keeping it indoors for half an hour.

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Home page > Insulin > Marking of insulin syringes, calculation of insulin U-40 and U-100 Marking of insulin syringes, calculation of insulin U-40 and U-100

To calculate insulin and its dosage, it is worth considering that the bottles that are presented on the pharmaceutical markets of Russia and the CIS countries contain 40 units of insulin per 1 milliliter.
The bottle is labeled U-40 (40 units/ml). Regular insulin syringes used by diabetics are designed specifically for this insulin. Before use, it is necessary to make an appropriate calculation of insulin according to the principle: 0.5 ml of insulin - 20 units, 0.25 ml - 10 units, 1 unit in a syringe with 40 divisions - 0.025 ml. Each line on an insulin syringe marks a certain volume, the graduation into insulin units is a graduation by volume of solution, and is designed for U-40 insulin (Concentration 40 units/ml): 4 units of insulin - 0.1 ml of solution, 6 units of insulin - 0. 15 ml of solution, 40 units of insulin - 1 ml of solution.

In many countries around the world, insulin is used, which contains 100 units per 1 ml of solution (U-100). In this case, it is necessary to use special syringes.

They are currently no different from U-40 syringes, however, the applied graduation is intended only for calculating insulin with a U-100 concentration. This insulin is 2.5 times higher than the standard concentration (100 units/ml: 40 units/ml = 2.5).
When calculating insulin, the patient must know that the dosage set by the doctor remains the same and is determined by the body’s need for a specific volume of the hormone. But if a diabetic used U-40 insulin, receiving 40 units per day, then when treated with U-100 insulin, he will still need 40 units. These 40 units just need to be injected with a U-100 syringe. If you inject U-100 insulin with a U-40 syringe, the amount of insulin injected should be 2.5 times less. For patients with diabetes, when calculating insulin, you must remember the formula: 40 units. U-40 is contained in 1 ml of solution and is equal to 40 units. insulin U-100 contained in 0.4 ml of solution. The dosage of insulin remains unchanged, only the volume of administered insulin decreases. This difference is taken into account in syringes designed for U-100.

chindolina.ru

I hope this information is useful and makes diabetic arithmetic easier for someone. Let's talk in this article about calculating the dose of insulin for diabetes.

Insulin dose calculation

Insulin is dosed in biological units of action (AU) and released in special vials. So, one 5 ml bottle contains 200 IU of insulin (there is a corresponding marking on the bottle), respectively, 1 ml contains 40 IU of the drug (200:5 = 40). It is better to inject a dose of insulin with a special syringe on which the units are indicated. When using regular insulin, before administering the drug, you need to find out how many units of insulin are in each division of the syringe. The calculation is made as follows: if 1 ml contains 40 units of insulin dose, this amount is divided by the number of divisions in 1 ml of the syringe and the amount of insulin dose in one division is obtained. For example, there are 20 divisions in 1 ml of a syringe, therefore there are 2 units in one division (40: 20 = 2). In the case when the patient needs to administer 16 units, eight divisions of the syringe are filled with the medicine. If there are 10 divisions in 1 ml of a syringe, then each division of the syringe corresponds to 4 units of insulin (40: 10 = 4). If it is necessary to administer 16 units of insulin, fill four divisions with the medicine.

Determination of the number of bread units

The main “marker” of the diet for patients with diabetes is carbohydrates. To determine their quantity in products, a conventional unit of calculation is used - a bread unit (XE). Conventionally, it contains 12 g of net carbohydrates and increases blood sugar by 1.7-2.7 mmol/l. To calculate the amount of carbohydrates in XE in the finished product, you need to divide the amount of carbohydrates in 100 g of product indicated on the original packaging by 12 and you will get the number of bread units for the same 100 g. For example, the packaging indicates that 100 g of this product contains 60 g carbohydrates. When dividing the indicated number by 12, it turns out that 100 g of this product contains 5 XE.

Glycemic load (GL) is an indicator that reflects the quantity and quality of carbohydrates contained in foods. To calculate it, the formula is used: GL = GI (%): 100 and multiplied by the amount of carbohydrates in grams. Where GI is the glycemic index, which reflects the rate of absorption of carbohydrates in the body. It allows you to roughly estimate how blood sugar will increase after consuming a particular product compared to the standard (glucose or white bread). This indicator is expressed as a percentage. For example, GI = 70 means that after consuming 50 g of this product, the blood sugar level will be 70% of what appears after consuming 50 g of pure glucose.

For example, the GI of boiled potatoes in their jackets is 65%, and 100 g of such potatoes contains 11.5 g of carbohydrates. After consuming this amount of potatoes, the glycemic load will be: GL = 65: 100 x 11.5 = 7.5. For comparison, let’s determine the same indicator for fried potatoes, the GI of which is 95%, and 100 g of it contains 23.4 g of carbohydrates - GI = 95:100 x 23.4 = 22.2.

This formula shows: the more carbohydrates in a product and the higher its GI, the higher the GN index, and, consequently, the load on the pancreas sharply increases. Depending on this, the degrees of GN are distinguished - low (0-10), medium (11-19), high 20 or more (for one serving). The glycemic index of foods is indicated in special tables that are available to every diabetic.

Signs of diabetes

According to experts, a significant number of people are predisposed to this disease. You can find out if you have it by answering the questions of a simple test.

— Do you feel a constant, unquenchable thirst?

— Do you experience discomfort due to the frequent urge to urinate, especially when you have to leave home for a long time?

— Do dried drops of urine leave dense white stains on laundry, reminiscent of starch marks?

— Do you periodically experience weakness and drowsiness?

— Do you notice a deterioration in your vision: the contours of objects blur, as if you are looking through fog?

— Are you bothered by periodic sensations of numbness and tingling in your palms and soles?

—You can’t get rid of acne?

— Do you have very dry skin, and cuts and scratches do not heal well?

— Do you worry about itchy skin, especially in the perineal area?

— In recent months, have you lost 3-5 kg ​​without putting any effort into it?

— Do you constantly feel very hungry, eat and can’t get enough?

The more affirmative answers you gave, the higher the likelihood of diabetes. In this case, you should immediately consult a doctor and take a blood and urine test for sugar.

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E. S. ZHDANOVA, doctor Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease in which, as a result of a lack of the pancreatic hormone insulin in the body, disturbances in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism occur. To treat diabetes mellitus, diet, glucose-lowering pills and insulin injections are used. It is very important for diabetic patients to be able to inject themselves with insulin. WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE AT HOME FOR INSULIN INJECTIONS A special syringe with a capacity of 1 or 2 milliliters (grams) or with graduation in units, several needles (2-3 large ones for taking the medicine, and 3-4 thin ones for administering it), tweezers, cotton wool, alcohol. You should stock up on a sterilizer or set aside a small saucepan with a lid. Before each injection, rinse the disassembled syringe, needles with mandrels (thin wires inserted inside and protecting the needles from contamination) and tweezers, fill with cold boiled water and boil in a closed sterilizer or saucepan for 15 minutes. If the syringes and needles are new, then boil them for the first time for 40-45 minutes. HOW MUCH TO TAKE MEDICATIONS This must be calculated in advance. Each syringe has a certain number of divisions. You need to know how many units of insulin are contained in each division. The calculation is made as follows: one milliliter contains 40 units of insulin. 40 units are divided by the number of divisions to obtain the amount of insulin per division. For example, there are 20 divisions in one milliliter of a syringe, therefore, one division contains 2 units of insulin (40:20). If the patient needs to inject 16 units of insulin, then 8 divisions of the syringe (16:2) should be filled with the medicine. One-gram syringes with 10 divisions are now available. Each division corresponds to 4 units of insulin (40:10). If it is necessary to inject 16 units of insulin with such a syringe, it is filled into 4 divisions. Insulin is available in standard packaging. The bottle contains 5 milliliters of the drug, or 20 units. Thus, one bottle is intended for several injections. The remaining medicine, as well as unused vials, should be stored in a cool, dark place, preferably in the refrigerator, on the shelves of the door, preventing the medicine from freezing. If you are using long-acting insulin, then before drawing it into the syringe, shake the bottle until a homogeneous mixture is formed. Before administration, the drug removed from the refrigerator must be warmed to room temperature by keeping it in the room for about 30 minutes. HOW TO GET MEDICINE INTO A SYRINGE After sterilizing the syringe, needles and tweezers, the water is carefully drained. While they are cooling, use a knife to remove the circle from the aluminum cap that covers the insulin bottle, wipe the rubber stopper with alcohol, wash your hands with soap and, without covering the tap with them or wiping them with a towel, wipe your fingertips with a cotton swab moistened with alcohol. Take tweezers from the sterilizer and use them to remove and assemble the syringe without touching the plunger, syringe tip or needle with your hands. When the syringe is assembled, put a thick needle on it and remove drops of water with a few strokes of the piston. The syringe plunger is placed slightly above the mark corresponding to the administered dose of insulin. Pierce the rubber cap with a needle and, inserting the needle 1-1.5 centimeters deep, squeeze the air in the syringe into the bottle. Then turn it with the needle up (the bottle is above the needle) and dial in insulin 1-2 divisions more than the required dose. Pull the needle out of the rubber cap and then remove it from the syringe; Use tweezers to place a thin needle on the syringe, removing the mandrel from it. Lightly press the plunger to remove air from the syringe, and let one or two drops of medicine drain from the tip of the needle (these are those extra 1-2 divisions). Now you can give the injection. HOW TO ADMINISTER INSULIN Insulin is injected subcutaneously into the outer surface of the shoulder, thighs, buttocks, central abdominal area and under the shoulder blades. It is more convenient to inject insulin into the thigh yourself. Wipe the injection site with alcohol. Using the thumb and index finger of your left hand, gather the skin into a thick fold and pierce it with a sweep, almost parallel to the surface. The needle should enter the skin 1-1.5 centimeters. After this, release the fold and slowly press the plunger with your index finger or thumb. Make sure that insulin does not leak out of the syringe. The dose of medication administered must be very precise. When the piston has entered the syringe all the way and there is no medicine left in it, apply a piece of cotton wool moistened with alcohol to the injection site and slowly remove the needle. There is no need to massage the resulting swelling so as not to accelerate the flow of insulin into the blood. You should also not inject in the same place. When going on vacation or a business trip, you can use a case with alcohol to keep the syringe and needle in a sterile condition. Before injection, it is necessary to carefully remove any remaining alcohol from the syringe and needle, since alcohol, if it gets into the insulin, will weaken its effect.

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Syringe markings

To prevent patients from getting confused, the manufacturer applies a special graduation to the syringe, which indicates the concentration of insulin in the bottle of medicine. It is worth noting that each mark on the cylinder does not at all indicate milliliters of solution, it indicates the number of units.

Features of marking division:

• When a syringe is needed for U40 concentrate, on the marking line, where, as a rule, 0.5 ml is written, an indicator of 20 units is observed, and at the level of 1 ml, 40 units are written.
• With all this, 1 insulin unit equals 0.025 ml of insulin.
• The U100 syringe has a parameter of 100 units, not 1 ml, and 50 units - 0.5 ml.

Diabetes mellitus requires the use of an insulin syringe of the required concentration. If the patient uses the hormone 40 units/ml, then U40 is required, and when the hormone is 100 units/ml, then U100.

Many patients wonder what will happen if they make a mistake and use the wrong syringe? For example, when a liquid with a concentration of 40 units/ml is drawn into the U100, instead of the required 20 units, only 8 will be obtained. That is, the dosage will be half as much as what is needed in this situation.

Another analogue can be given, when U40 and a solution of 100 units/ml are used, but in reality only 50 units will be obtained, but 20 are needed.

So that a diabetic can easily choose the required insulin syringe, manufacturers have come up with a specific identification mark to help select the required syringe:

1. The 40 units syringe has a red protective cap.
2. The 100 unit syringe has an orange cap.

In a similar way, you can distinguish insulin pens, which are designed for 100 units. In this regard, if for some reason the pen breaks down or is lost, it is important to know how much volume is in the syringe or insulin pen, and how to distinguish them.

In situations where the patient purchased the wrong product, an insulin overdose cannot be ruled out, which can lead to serious consequences and even death.

How to choose a needle and determine the division price?

Patients are faced with the task of not only choosing the correct volume of the syringe, but also choosing a needle of the required length. The pharmacy sells two types of needles:

• Removable view.
• Non-removable view.

Medical experts advise choosing the second option, because removable needles have the ability to retain a certain amount of the medicinal substance, the volume of which can be up to 7 units.

Today, needles are produced whose length is 8 and 12.7 millimeters. They are not produced shorter than this length, because bottles of medicine with thick rubber stoppers are still sold.

In addition, the thickness of the needle is also important. The fact is that when insulin is injected with a thick needle, the patient will feel pain. And using the thinnest possible needle, the injection is absolutely not felt by the diabetic. At the pharmacy you can buy syringes with different volumes:

1. 0.3 ml.
2. 0.5 ml.
3. 1 ml.

In the vast majority of cases, patients prefer to opt for 1 ml, which is marked with three types of markings:

• U 40.
• U 100.
• Scale in milliliters.

In some situations, you can purchase an insulin syringe that has a double designation. Before injecting yourself with medicine, you need to determine the entire volume of the syringe. To do this, you need to do the following:

1. First, the volume of the 1st division is calculated.
2. Next, the entire volume (indicated on the packaging) is divided by the number of divisions in the product.
3. Important: you need to count only intervals.
4. Then you need to determine the volume of one division: all small divisions are counted among all large ones.
5. Then, the volume of the large division is divided by the number of small divisions.

How is the insulin dose calculated?

It was found out how much the volume of the syringe is, and when to choose a syringe for U40 or U100, you need to find out how to calculate the dose of the hormone.

The hormonal solution is sold in packaging manufactured according to medical standards, the dosage is indicated using BIA (biological units of action), which are designated “unit”.

Typically, a 5 ml vial contains 200 units of insulin. When you recalculate in a different way, it turns out that 1 ml of liquid contains 40 units of the drug.

Features of dosage administration:

• It is advisable to make the injection with a special syringe that has single divisions.
• If a standard syringe is used, then before administering the dose, you need to calculate the number of units included in each division.

The medicine bottle can be used many times. The medicine must be stored in a cold place, but not in the cold.

When using a hormone that has a prolonged effect, the bottle must be shaken before taking the medicine to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Before administration, the medicine must be warmed to room temperature.

To summarize, it is necessary to summarize that every diabetic should know what the syringe markings mean, which needle to choose correctly, and how to calculate the correct dosage. Only this knowledge will help to avoid negative consequences and maintain the patient’s health.

diabetik.com

Syringe - syringe is different

Doctors around the world began using a special syringe for insulin injection several decades ago. Several variants of syringe models for diabetics have been developed, which are easy to use independently, for example, a pen or a pump. But outdated models have not lost their relevance.

The main advantages of the insulin model include simplicity of design and accessibility.

The insulin syringe should be such that the patient can painlessly inject himself at any time, with minimal complications. To do this, you need to choose the right model.

What does pharmacology offer?

Pharmacy chains offer syringes of various modifications. By design they come in two types:

• Disposable, sterile, with replaceable needles.
• Syringes with a built-in (integrated) needle. The model does not have a “dead zone”, so there is no loss of medication.

It is difficult to answer which types are better. Modern pen syringes or pumps can be carried with you to work or school. The drug is filled in them in advance and remains sterile until use. They are comfortable and small in size.

Expensive models are equipped with electronic mechanisms that will remind you when it is necessary to give an injection, show how much medicine has been administered and the time of the last injection. Similar ones are shown in the photo.

Choosing the right syringe

The correct insulin syringe has transparent walls so that the patient can see how much medication has been drawn up and injected. The piston is rubberized and the drug is introduced smoothly and slowly.

When choosing a model for injection, it is important to understand the scale divisions. The number of divisions may vary on different models. One division contains the minimum volume of the drug that can be drawn into the syringe

Why is a graduation scale needed?

An insulin syringe must have marked divisions and a scale; if they are not there, we do not recommend purchasing such models. The divisions and scale show the patient how much concentrated insulin is inside. Typically, 1 ml of the drug is equal to 100 units, but there are expensive devices for 40 ml/100 units.

For any model of insulin syringe, the divisions have a small error, which is exactly ½ division of the total volume.

For example, if you administer a medicine with a syringe graduated in 2 units, the total dosage will be +- 0.5 units of the medicine. For the information of readers, 0.5 units of insulin can reduce blood sugar levels by 4.2 mmol/l. In a small child this figure is even higher.

Anyone with diabetes needs to understand this information. A small error, even 0.25 units, can lead to glycemia. The smaller the model’s error, the easier and safer it is to use the syringe. This is important to understand so that the patient can accurately administer the insulin dose on their own.

To administer the drug as accurately as possible, follow the rules:

• the smaller the division step, the more accurate the dosage of the administered drug will be;
• It is better to dilute the hormone before administration.

A standard insulin syringe has a capacity of no more than 10 units for administering the drug. The division step is marked with the following numbers:

• 0.25 Units
• 1 Unit
• 2 Units

Insulin labeling

On the market in our country and the CIS, the hormone is produced in bottles with a solution of 40 units of the drug per 1 ml. It is marked U-40. Standard disposable syringes are designed for this volume. Calculate how many ml in units. division is not difficult, since 1 Unit. 40 divisions equal 0.025 ml of the drug. Our readers can use the table:

Now let’s figure out how to calculate a solution with a concentration of 40 units/ml. Knowing how many ml are on one scale, you can calculate how many units of the hormone are produced in 1 ml. For the convenience of readers, we present the result for marking U-40 in the form of a table:

Insulin labeled U-100 is found abroad. The solution contains 100 units. hormone per 1 ml. Our standard syringes are not suitable for this medicine. Need special ones. Their design is the same as U-40, but the graduation scale is designed for U-100. The concentration of imported insulin is 2.5 times higher than our U-40. You need to calculate based on this figure.

How to use an insulin syringe correctly

We recommend using syringes for hormonal injections, the needles of which are not removable. They do not have a dead zone and the medication will be administered in a more precise dosage. The only drawback is that after 4-5 times the needles will become dull. Syringes with removable needles are more hygienic, but their needles are thicker.

It is more practical to alternate: use a disposable simple syringe at home, and at work or elsewhere a reusable one with a non-removable needle.

Before drawing the hormone into the syringe, the bottle must be wiped with alcohol. For short-term administration of a small dose, there is no need to shake the medication. A large dosage is available in the form of a suspension, so shake the bottle before taking it.

The piston on the syringe is pulled back to the required division and the needle is inserted into the bottle. Air is forced inside the bubble, the piston and the medicine under pressure inside are drawn into the device. The amount of medication in the syringe should slightly exceed the administered dose. If air bubbles get inside, you should lightly tap it with your finger.

It is correct to use different needles for drawing up the drug and administering it. To take the medication, you can use needles from a simple syringe. An injection can only be given using an insulin needle.

There are a number of rules that will tell the patient how to mix the drug correctly:

• First, short-acting insulin should be drawn into the syringe, then long-acting;
• Short-acting insulin or NPH should be used immediately after mixing or stored for no more than 3 hours.
• Intermediate-acting insulin (IAI) should not be mixed with long-acting suspension. The zinc filler converts the long hormone into a short one. And this is life-threatening!
• Detemir and long-acting insulin Glargine cannot be mixed with each other or with other types of hormones.

The place where the injection will be given is wiped with a solution of antiseptic liquid or a simple detergent. We do not recommend using an alcohol solution; the fact is that the skin of diabetic patients dries out. Alcohol will dry it out even more, causing painful cracks to appear.

Insulin must be injected under the skin, not into muscle tissue. The needle puncture is made strictly at an angle of 45-75 degrees, shallow. You should not pull out the needle after administering the drug; wait 10–15 seconds for the hormone to distribute under the skin. Otherwise, the hormone will partially come out into the hole from under the needle.

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General calculation rules

An important rule in the algorithm for calculating the dose of insulin is that the patient needs no more than 1 unit of the hormone per kilogram of weight. If you ignore this rule, an overdose of insulin will occur, which can lead to a critical condition - hypoglycemic coma. But to accurately select the dose of insulin, it is necessary to take into account the degree of compensation of the disease:

• In the first stages of type 1 disease, the required dose of insulin is selected at the rate of no more than 0.5 units of the hormone per kilogram of weight.
• If type 1 diabetes is well compensated for a year, then the maximum dose of insulin will be 0.6 units of the hormone per kilogram of body weight.
• In severe cases of type 1 diabetes and constant fluctuations in blood glucose levels, up to 0.7 units of the hormone per kilogram of weight is required.
• In the case of decompensated diabetes, the insulin dose will be 0.8 U/kg;
• For gestational diabetes mellitus – 1.0 U/kg.

So, the insulin dose is calculated according to the following algorithm: Daily insulin dose (IU) * Total body weight/2.

Example: If the daily dose of insulin is 0.5 units, then it must be multiplied by body weight, for example 70 kg. 0.5*70 = 35. The resulting number 35 must be divided by 2. The resulting number is 17.5, which must be rounded down, that is, 17. It turns out that the morning dose of insulin will be 10 units, and the evening dose – 7.

What dose of insulin is needed for 1 unit of bread?

A bread unit is a concept that was introduced to make it easier to calculate the administered dose of insulin immediately before a meal. Here, not all products that contain carbohydrates are taken into account in the calculation of bread units, but only those that are “counted”:

• potatoes, beets, carrots;
• grain products;
• sweet fruits;
• sweets.

In Russia, one unit of bread corresponds to 10 grams of carbohydrates. One unit of bread is equal to a slice of white bread, one medium-sized apple, two teaspoons of sugar. If one bread unit enters the body, which is unable to independently produce insulin, then the glycemic level increases in the range from 1.6 to 2.2 mmol/l. That is, these are exactly the indicators by which glycemia decreases if one unit of insulin is administered.

It follows from this that for each unit of bread taken, about 1 unit of insulin must be administered in advance. That is why it is recommended that all diabetics acquire a table of bread units in order to make the most accurate calculations. In addition, before each injection it is necessary to control glycemia, that is, find out the level of sugar in the blood using a glucometer.

If the patient has hyperglycemia, that is, high sugar, the required number of units of the hormone must be added to the corresponding number of bread units. In case of hypoglycemia, the dose of the hormone will be less.

Example: If a diabetic has a sugar level of 7 mmol/l half an hour before meals, and he plans to eat 5 XE, he needs to administer one unit of short-acting insulin. Then the initial blood sugar will decrease from 7 mmol/l to 5 mmol/l. Also, to compensate for 5 bread units, you need to introduce 5 units of the hormone, for a total insulin dose of 6 units.

How to choose the dose of insulin in a syringe?

To fill a regular syringe with a volume of 1.0-2.0 ml with the required amount of medicine, you need to calculate the cost of dividing the syringe. To do this, you need to determine the number of divisions in 1 ml of the instrument. The domestically produced hormone is sold in 5.0 ml bottles. 1 ml is 40 units of the hormone. 40 units of the hormone must be divided by the number that is obtained by counting the divisions in 1 ml of the instrument.

Example: There are 10 divisions in 1 ml syringe. 40:10 = 4 units. That is, 4 units of insulin are placed in one division of the syringe. The dose of insulin that needs to be injected should be divided by the price of one division, thus you will get the number of divisions on the syringe that must be filled with insulin.

There are also pen syringes that contain a special flask filled with hormone. By pressing or turning the syringe button, insulin is injected subcutaneously. Before the injection, the required dose must be set in pen syringes, which will enter the patient’s body.

How to administer insulin: general rules

Insulin is administered according to the following algorithm (when the required volume of medication has already been calculated):

1. Hands should be disinfected and medical gloves should be worn.
2. Roll out the bottle of medicine in your hands so that it is evenly mixed, and disinfect the lid and stopper.
3. Fill the syringe with air in the amount in which the hormone will be injected.
4. Place the bottle of medicine vertically on the table, remove the cap from the needle and insert it into the bottle through the stopper.
5. Press the syringe so that the air from it enters the bottle.
6. Turn the bottle upside down and fill the syringe with 2-4 units more than the dose that should enter the body.
7. Remove the needle from the bottle, release the air from the syringe, adjusting the dose to the required level.
8. Disinfect the place where the injection will be given twice with a piece of cotton wool and an antiseptic.
9. Inject insulin subcutaneously (with a large dose of the hormone, the injection is done intramuscularly).
10. Treat the injection site and the instruments used.

For rapid absorption of the hormone (if the injection is subcutaneous), it is recommended to give an injection in the stomach. If the injection is given in the thigh, absorption will be slow and incomplete. An injection into the buttocks, the shoulder has an average absorption speed.

You can get more information about the insulin injection technique here: http://diabet.biz/lechenie/tradicionnaya/insulin/tehnika-vvedenija-insulina.html.

Extended insulin and its dose (video)

Long-acting insulin is prescribed to patients to maintain normal fasting blood glucose levels so that the liver has the opportunity to produce glucose constantly (and this is necessary for brain function), because with diabetes the body cannot do this on its own.

Extended insulin is administered once every 12 or 24 hours, depending on the type of insulin (two effective types of insulin are used today - Levemir and Lantus). A diabetes control specialist explains in this video how to correctly calculate the required dose of extended-release insulin:

The ability to correctly calculate insulin doses is a skill that every insulin-dependent diabetic should master. If you choose the wrong dose of insulin, an overdose may occur, which, if assistance is not provided in a timely manner, can result in death. The correct doses of insulin are the key to the well-being of a diabetic.