Changing Needles

[mum2westiesGill]

I was wondering, is there anybody who changes needles for every single injection?

My dsn (practice nurse) goes mad if she ever catches me with a needle left on my pen.
The dsn who I met at my local diabetic drop in caught me with a needle still on my pen and stressed how important it is to remove needles after every injection.
They both said that needles are only a few pence on the nhs and it would cost a lot more to treat an infection / complications that arise from reusing.
Needles are designed for single use, and should only be used once.

At one time I used to only change the needle once or twice during each vial of insulin 😱.

Now (apart from the odd forgotten time) I change the needle after every injection.
I carb count and do the normal 5 a day injections - background / breakfast / lunch / teatime / background
I change at the above times but I'm unsure what to do if i was maybe having a "treat" after my meal. Normally I would add the amount of carbs for the "treat" in with the meal time dose but if I had already taken the needle off I would then have to use another needle.
Should I maybe leave the needle on the pen until I've finished my meal and then remove it but possibly forgeting to remove it!
Also if i was offered a "treat" between meals I'm unsure what to do.

 

[gabriele]

Hello wiskeysmum ,

some years ago I had a bad infection and i thought it was the needle but than it turned out it wasn't . Since then I change needles every day in the morning . I'm an extrem low carber and I use each of my pens only twice a day .

 

[robofski]

I was told from day one to change the needle every time and always do! Though I was filling up sharps bins like there was no tomorrow so now I only put the needle in the sharps bin, the outer and inner plastic covers go in the recycle bin.

 

[claireD]

My understanding is that you should use a new needle for every single injection however many you do in a day. Why not get into the habit of taking the needle off as soon as you have injected then you wont be tempted to use it again. I read something today stating why you should not re use needles may have been from a link on here ?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

In all my years of MDI I never changed every time - it was always introduced to me as a "well they say you should, but really..." sort of thing.

Sometimes it felt like needles took a jab ot two to 'wear in' and get comfy. I used to change them every few days or when they began to hurt - probably very bad practice, but I got so lazy with it in the end that it was hard to re-educate myself!

 

[Northerner]

I use a new needle each time. They are very fine and become blunted once used, and can form a conduit for air or bacteria to enter the pen if left on.

Blunted needles:

😱

 

[brett]

New one every time ~ better safe than sorry 🙂

 

[PattiEvans]

Definitely a new one each injection, even if I do 2 injections for 1 meal due to adding something I hadn't thought of to start with.

 

[Tina63]

We were always told to change needles every time and I am sure I was told they are coated in some lubricant to make injecting as painless as possible, so using them a second/third/twentieth time this lubricant effect wouldn't be there.

My lad always leaves the needle on until time for the next injection, and I do notice very large air bubbles in his pens. I don't know if others get air bubbles despite removing them or if this is a problem with leaving an old needle on.

 

[Northerner]

We were always told to change needles every time and I am sure I was told they are coated in some lubricant to make injecting as painless as possible, so using them a second/third/twentieth time this lubricant effect wouldn't be there.

My lad always leaves the needle on until time for the next injection, and I do notice very large air bubbles in his pens. I don't know if others get air bubbles despite removing them or if this is a problem with leaving an old needle on.

Never had an air bubble in my pens 🙂 (famous last words!)

 

[Twitchy]

You're all making me feel like a right skiprat lol...when I was on pens it wasn't unknown for a needle to be made to last...well, a lot longer than the one jab! 😱 I think it was a hang up from the days when I had to buy my own needles (syringes were available on prescription, and the insulin cartridges for the pens, but bizarrely not the needles for the pens, go figure!) In hindsight I did tend to get air bubbles in the cartridge...

As for lancets, I use a multiclix now, which means I'm a bit more likely to change lancet more often than on public holidays... 😉

 

[AlisonF]

I used to change my pen needles every few days, unless they hurt in which case I'd change sooner, but that was rare. I change lancets every bank holiday, again unless they hurt in which case I change them sooner, but that's rarely the case.

 

[AlisonM]

I change my pen needles every time, but the lancet needles only once in a blue moon. I'm still working on the box of lancet needles I was given at Dx in 2009.

 

[redrevis]

I use a new needle every time. Always have done and always will do. My lancet I change when I find it is starting to be painful.

 

[Doddy]

I was told to use a new needle every time, and had to remove the needle from the pen as it can cause the pen to leak if you leave it on.
the needle of my lancet gets changed once in a blue moon

 

[tejbat6]

Pen and Lancet new each time
Had enough medical problems to last a lifetime🙄 without courting disaster

 

[tejbat6]

meant to add..
every time you stick a needle in you open a pathway for infection

read that somewhere
makes sense
to me anyway

 

[Lauras87]

I try to change every time but have occasionally use 1 needle twice but I've felt the pain of it

 

[ch1ps]

For breakfast I usually take my levemir around the same time as my bolus so re-use the needle. Do the same in the evening too ... 😱

 

[trophywench]

New one every time here (on MDI) and yes Tina - leaving the needle on DOES let air leak into the cartridge - cos I hadn't used to change every time and it's too late now, but of course I have some right iffy sites all over me front as a consequence. Never had an infection from re-using eith a pen needle or a lancet but why risk it?

And yes, the lube starts to dry up as soon as it's exposed to air. Plus it wipes off on the inner regions of yer dermis.

Lovely when the needle's been lying round for days; NOT.