One of the first things that you have to do when you learn you have diabetes is to become familiar with insulin needles. Measuring an insulin needle is sometimes hard for people who are new to it and it’s important to be really careful when you’re performing the injection yourself. It’s a good idea to measure your dosage and inject for the first time while someone who is trained is there with you. Here are the steps for measuring insulin needles.

The first thing that you want to do is to become familiar with the needle. The cap is going to fit over the tip of the needle. The barrel is a long chamber and that’s where the insulin’s held. The lines that you see on the needle’s barrel are the units of insulin. How much liquid will go in the barrel is going to determine the number of units. When the barrel holds 1/4 ml of fluid, it’s going to hold 25 units. If it holds 1/3 ML, it will hold 30. 1/2 ML holds 60, and 1 ML holds 100. The rod that is in the barrel is known as the road and it’s used both for drawing and dispensing insulin. The plunger end inside the barrel has a seal made of rubber. This is used for determining the amount of insulin in the barrel.

Choose the right size syringe. This will depend on the amount of units needed to be injected. Select the smallest size you can. An example would be if you require 20 units you should choose the syringe that is 1/4 mL since it holds just 25. Don’t choose the 1/3 syringe.

Take the cap from your syringe so that the tip is exposed.

Put the tip of the needle into the insulin container and pull back slowly on the needle’s plunger until the seal has reached the right amount of units. If 10 units are required, the seal needs to be at the line that says *10. After this step is completed, your needle will be ready to use.

These are the things to remember when it comes to insulin needles. They will help you with the right sizes and become familiar with the needles that you are going to be using for the rest of your life.  Knowing how to use them is just the first step. The rest is up to you.