What are the side effects of insulin?

Although insulin is widely used, if it is used blindly or for a long time without caution, the side effects may have great impact and harm, such as easily causing edema, local bruising, and fat atrophy.

1. Edema

Patients may develop edema 4 to 6 days after using insulin to control blood sugar. It is more common on the face, and a small number of patients may also experience edema in other parts of the body. This is probably related to insulin promoting the reabsorption of sodium by the renal tubules. It is called insulin edema. This type of edema is mostly not serious, and over time, most of them will gradually disappear on their own within a month.

2. Local bruises

Some patients find that bruises appear on the local skin at the injection site after injecting insulin. In fact, this phenomenon not only occurs after insulin injection, but may also occur after injection of other drugs. It turns out that local bruising after injection is not caused by drugs or insulin, but is related to capillary damage caused by injection. Generally, this type of bruise can be absorbed quickly and does not require special treatment. To prevent local bruising, apply pressure to the injection site for a few seconds immediately after the injection.

3. Fat atrophy

Lipoatrophy is relatively rare in clinical practice and can be divided into congenital and acquired types. Lipoatrophy caused by insulin injection belongs to the latter. Subcutaneous fat may atrophy at the site where patients inject insulin, forming a small, barely noticeable depression. The true cause of this condition is not yet clear, but studies have found that using high-purity human insulin preparations and frequently changing the injection site can effectively prevent subcutaneous fat atrophy.