Vial and Syringe Instructions
Your healthcare provider or diabetes educator will explain how to take your Humalog insulin injection. He or she will then watch you do the following steps.
- Wash your hands.
- If an insulin mixture (cloudy insulin), gently mix the insulin by:
- Rolling the vial between the palms of your hands.
- Turning the vial over from end to end a few times until completely mixed.
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- If this is a new vial, remove the flat, colored cap, but not the rubber stopper or the metal band under the cap.
- Clean the rubber stopper with an alcohol swab.
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- Remove the cover from the needle.
- Pull the plunger back to pull air into the syringe.
- Pull back until the tip of the plunger is at the line for the number of units required.
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- Push the needle through the rubber stopper.
- Make sure the tip of the needle is not in the insulin.
- Press the plunger to push air into the vial of insulin.
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- Turn the vial and syringe upside down. Now the tip of the needle should be in the insulin.
- Holding the vial with one hand, use the other to pull back on the plunger, which will pull insulin into the syringe. Stop when the plunger is at the line for your dose.
- Look at the insulin in the syringe.
If you see any air bubbles:
- Use the plunger to push the insulin back into the vial.
- Then slowly pull the plunger back to the line for your dose of insulin.
- Repeat this until there are no large air bubbles in the syringe.
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- Make sure the tip of the plunger is at the line showing your dose of insulin.
- Double check your dose. Magnifiers are available if needed to help you see more clearly.
- Pull the needle out of the rubber stopper.
- If you need to lay the needle down before taking your shot, put the cover back on the tip to protect it.
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- Choose an injection site.
- Make sure the skin is clean.
- Pinch up a large area of skin.
- Push the needle into the skin, going straight in at a 90 degree angle.
- Make sure the needle is all the way in.
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- Push the plunger all the way down to inject the insulin into your body.
- Release the pinched skin, count to five slowly, and pull the needle straight out.
- Do not rub the place where you gave your injection.
- Safely dispose of used syringes. Your healthcare provider, pharmacist, diabetes educator, or state health authorities can tell you how.
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Your healthcare provider may want you to take more than one type of insulin. For example, you may need a combination of rapid-acting and longer-acting insulin to keep your blood sugar in the target range.
There are two ways to do this:
- Use a premixed insulin. This method does not require you to mix insulin yourself.
- Mix the two types of insulin yourself. Ask your healthcare provider if it is OK to mix your rapid-acting and longer-acting insulins together. If the answer is yes, follow the procedure below.
- Clean the tops of both vials with an alcohol swab.
- Inject (a) units of air into the longer-acting (cloudy) insulin bottle. Do not pull insulin into the syringe.
- Take the needle out of the vial.
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- Inject (b) units of air into the rapid-acting (clear) insulin vial.
- Turn the vial and syringe upside down.
- Hold the vial with one hand.
- Use the other hand to pull back on the plunger until you have your required dose of rapid-acting insulin in the syringe.
- Be sure to remove any large air bubbles.
- Take the needle out of the vial.
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- Gently roll or shake the longer-acting insulin vial until it is mixed.
- Insert the needle into the vial of longer-acting insulin.
- Turn the vial and syringe upside down.
- Hold the vial with one hand.
- Use the other hand to pull back on the plunger.
- Pull the plunger back until you have a total of both equaled to (a + b) your total prescribed insulin dosage, as recommended by your physician.
- Be careful not to push any of the rapid-acting insulin into the longer-acting insulin vial.
- Remove the needle from the vial.
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- Choose an injection site.
- Make sure the skin is clean.
- Pinch up a large area of skin.
- Push the needle into the skin, going straight in at a 90 degree angle.
- Make sure the needle is all the way in.
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- Push the plunger all the way down to inject the insulin into your body.
- Release the pinched skin, count to five slowly, and pull the needle straight out.
- Do not rub the place where you gave your injection.
- Safely dispose of used syringes. Your healthcare provider, pharmacist, diabetes educator, or state health authorities can tell you how.
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(a) Units reflects your healthcare provider's recommendation for units of longer-acting insulin.
(b) Units reflects your healthcare provider's recommendation for units of rapid-acting insulin.
Note: Work with your healthcare provider if you are mixing insulin for guidance on the best way to manage this.
