The Issue Of Insulin Pens And Cartridges |
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| By Bobby Castro |
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| The United States Food and Drug Administration issued an
alert to health care practitioners to remind them of the
proper use of insulin pens and cartridges. The warning
stated that these devices are single-patient pens and should
not be used to administer medication to multiple patients.
This can increase the risk of transmitting highly contagious
diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. Insulin pens are injector devices that have a disposable needle and an insulin reservoir. The device is able to contain insulin for an individual to self-administer several shots of insulin before becoming empty. The proper use of such devices is one device for only one patient only and has been approved as such. There are other issues regarding the use of insulin pens. Some of them are as follows: Bleeding at Injection Area. A small amount of blood appears when insulin is injected and is caused by the syringe puncturing a blood vessel. Putting pressure on the injection site with a cotton ball or finger. Some of the blood enters the insulin pen, which causes blood pathogens to enter the pen and be spread if multiple users inject using the same insulin pen. Pain During Injections. Over time, diabetics get used to the injections of insulin into their system. If one experiences pain during the injection using an insulin pen, be sure you are using the proper injection techniques. Avoid bending the needle when removing the cap and this is done through twisting and then pulling them from the pen itself to expose the needle. The needle should be used only once and repeated use may dull the tip of the lancet, causing greater difficulty in injecting the needed hormone. Also, with a dulled tip, blood cells can get trapped which can infect others when insulin pens are shared. Clogging of the Insulin Pen. Injecting the syringe but not having any insulin flowing because of the difficulty in pressing the button or plunger means the passageway is clogged. This may be due to small amounts of insulin may have been caught in the needle from a previous use. Or some skin cells or other debris may have clogged up the needle. It would be best to replace the needle after each use and dispose of them properly. Allowing them to be used by others can only increase the risk of infecting others. Proper use of the insulin pen, not only in replacement but also compliance with the one patient user only requirement can only remove the risk of being infected with another debilitating condition aside from diabetes. Proper maintenance and use can only help manage diabetes in the long run. |
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| Article Source: http://interpret.zar.vg | ||||
| About The Author Bobby Castro is the online editor at the Diabetes Forum, where he has published a number of articles about diabetes supplies and many other topics. |
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