When should long-acting insulin be administered?

There are many types of insulin, including short-acting insulin, intermediate-acting insulin and long-acting insulin, etc. Compared with short-acting insulin, long-acting insulin can last longer, generally up to 24 hours. However, you should also pay attention to preventing symptoms of hypoglycemia at night, so you can inject insulin after breakfast. Also pay attention when injecting long-acting insulin that it can only be injected once a day.

When should long-acting insulin be administered?

Long-acting insulin is relative to short-acting insulin and intermediate-acting insulin. The duration of long-acting insulin is very long, which can reach 24 hours, so everyone must pay special attention. In order to prevent symptoms of nocturnal hypoglycemia, you can inject it after breakfast. Long-acting insulin can only be injected once a day to maintain better therapeutic effects. Long-acting insulin does not have a peak and there is no strict injection time. It can be injected at any time of the day, but it is not recommended to inject at dinner, as this may cause other side effects in the human body. Long-acting insulin is not affected by meal times, which provides great convenience for patients.

How to inject long-acting insulin

To inject insulin, you must first choose a location. You can choose the outside of the upper arm, the abdomen, the front and outside of the thigh, etc. These parts can be injected in a planned rotation. You can inject once a day in the same part of the body, but each injection point needs to be 2 cm apart to prevent nodules from forming on the local skin of the human body. It can also maintain stable absorption of insulin. When injecting, you must choose a special syringe with units engraved on it. When using this type of syringe, patients do not need to convert insulin units when drawing insulin. This is the most accurate and convenient way.

How to remedy missed insulin doses

In fact, patients often miss taking insulin in their daily lives. For patients with type 2 diabetes, this is not a big problem and they can use some hypoglycemic drugs immediately after a meal. However, for patients with type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes, or poor insulin function, they must pay special attention, take active remedial measures, and choose insulin in a timely manner, otherwise it will lead to serious consequences. If you forget to take insulin for breakfast, you can take it again immediately after the meal. Be sure to monitor your blood sugar at all times and add meals in between if necessary. If you don't take insulin at noon, you can temporarily inject a short-acting insulin before lunch. But you must pay special attention that the two insulin injections in the morning and evening must not be combined into one. Injection before dinner may cause hypoglycemia.