Watch a video on how to inject insulin from a vial or insulin pen:

English l 胰岛素疗程 l Terapi Insulin l இன்சுலின் சிகிச்சை

Download the steps for future reference here:

How to draw and inject insulin from a vial

How to draw and inject a mixture of two insulins from vials

How to use an insulin pen

(Credit: Health Hub National Diabetes Reference Materials which can be assessed here) 

You can minimize the pain of injection with these tips:

1. Use insulin which is at room temperature

2. Use a new needle with each injection. Re-using old needles will make it more painful.

3. Speak to your healthcare team on the right needle length for you

4. Push in the needle quickly when injecting 

How to avoid lumps

Lumps can form under your skin if you inject repeatedly at the same spot. To avoid this, rotate injection spots regularly.  

Feel the area you have chosen for injection for lumps before injecting. If there are lumps, pick another area. 

• When you have brought home your insulin from the pharmacy, store all unopened insulin in the fridge (not the freezer).

• When you open a new vial of insulin or pen, write the date on the vial or pen the day you open it.

• Keep opened vials and pens at room temperature. 

• Do not leave the insulin in the car or under the hot sun.

• Discard the opened vial or pen 28 days after opening.

• If you are using a cloudy insulin pen (for example: NovoMix 30 insulin pen), discard and use a new pen when you have less then 12 units left in the pen (see marking on pen). This is to ensure that you have an adequate volume of insulin left in the pen to allow for re-suspension before injection. 

​To avoid the situation of running out of insulin, contact your healthcare team for a refill prescription at least 2 weeks before you run out.