Remember:
- Always check your medicine type and expiration date before
leaving the pharmacy.
- Once opened, the medicine must be used in the number of days
instructed by your health care provider. Make sure that unopened
medication is kept refrigerated until its expiration date.
- Keep your opened medicine at room temperature (not too cold or
too hot).
- Do not use medicine that contains lumps, is discolored, or has
been frozen.
- If you use a pen device, consult your health care provider
about storage.
- Dispose of pen needles, syringes, and lancets (for blood sugar
testing) in a hard, plastic container with a screw-on lid. Call
your local city hall for disposal guidelines. Sharps containers
might also be purchased at your local pharmacy.If the same
injection site is used over and over again, you might develop
hardened areas under the skin that keep medicine from being used
properly. To avoid this problem, follow these instructions.
- Move the site of each injection. Inject at least 1½
inches away from the last injection site.
- Try to use the same general injection area at the same time
each day.
- Ask your doctor, nurse, or health educator which sites you
should use.
- Keep a record of which injections sites you have used.Note: The
abdomen has the faster rate of absorption, followed by the arms,
thighs, and buttocks.
Note: The abdomen has the faster rate of absorption, followed by
the arms, thighs, and buttocks.