Bubbles in Novorapid pen

[David Wraith]

Looking for advice, only diagnosed T1 at start of month, half way down my second Novorapid pen and I've noticed several large bubbles in the insulin and don't seem to be able to get rid of same, is it still safe to use and also I'm I storing it right. At present it's laid flat in a small medical bag.

 

[PhoebeC]

Insulin lasts 30 days from once you first inject.
What insulin is it?

You should avoid injecting air.
Before you next inject, add the needle, take off the cap, point it upwards and press the button until you get rid of the air bubbles.
You shouldn’t inject bubbles as it’s not insulin. Won’t harm you but it’s not the insulin you think you’ve had, so will cause your levels to rise.
You should always prep the pen to remove air before you inject. Did they not show you this?

 

[Inka]

Have you checked all the pen connections and needle connections are tight @David Wraith ? There shouldn’t be big air bubbles. Are you keeping the pen out of direct heat? Either change the pen cartridge or hold the pen with the needle pointing up and gently flick your finger against the cartridge to force the air bubbles up near the needle, then hold the pen in that position and dial up 3 or 4 units and inject those into the air. Repeat until bubbles have gone.

Prior to every injection, you should be doing a 2 unit ‘airshot’ to check the insulin is flowing/up near the needle.

 

[Robin]

It’s normal to get the odd one or two air bubbles, I wouldn’t describe mine as 'large' though. Have you tried pointing the pen straight up when you’re doing your 2 unit air shot? That often gets rid of them.
Edit. @PhoebeC types faster than I do!

 

[Tdm]

Also, if you are injecting into a site such that your needle is down, the airbubbles, should float to the top and therefore safely away from the needle

 

[David Wraith]

Many thanks for the advice, finally managed to get rid of the bubbles after 4 attempts at 2 unit's

 

[SB2015]

Before you do the air shots with the needle upwards, lightly tap the base of the pen on the table or flick the pen and the bubbles should rise to the top. That should send the bubbles out with the air shots.

With the pen needle down during the injection any remaining bubbles will rise to the top of the cartridge away from the insulin that you are injecting.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

It’s a nifty skill to have learned @David Wraith 🙂

One of the tricksy things about insulin pens is that even though they are a closed system, fluctuations in temperature can force oxygen out of a liquid as it warms (because oxygen is less soluble in warmer liquids). It’s one of the reasons why it’s best to keep in-use insulin out of the fridge, and somewhere relatively cool and steady in temperature (so not on a window sill, or near a radiator.

Air-shotting with a few taps is a good habit to get into, and as @Tdm says, if you are injecting ‘needle down’, you should have added protection.