Care of your medication
You will receive your medication via courier packed with ice. If you won’t be home on the day of delivery, leave a cooler outside with icepacks in it where you normally receive packages.
Once you arrive home, immediately place your medication in the fridge and in a ziploc bag to keep it clean.
If you travel while taking your medication, you will need to purchase a TSA approved carrier to keep your medication cool, such as this one from Amazon. You can use this convenient link to purchase.
How to Inject
Supplies:
insulin syringes
alcohol pads
cotton ball or gauze
sharps container
All supplies can be obtained from Amazon or bought at your local pharmacy. Let your clinician know if you would like alcohol pads and syringes included with your medication order.
To give a subcutaneous injection, you can follow these steps:
- Prepare: Wash your hands, gather your supplies, and make sure you have the correct medication and dose. Use an alcohol pad to clean the top of the medication vial.
- Choose an injection site: Consider areas like the belly, thigh, upper arm, or lower back. Avoid injecting the same area more than once, and leave at least one inch between injection sites.
- Clean the area: Use an alcohol pad to clean the injection site.
- Pinch the skin: With your non-dominant hand, pinch a fold of skin and fatty tissue at the injection site.
- Inject: Insert the needle at a 90-degree angle into the pinched skin. If there isn’t much fatty tissue, you can insert the needle at a 45-degree angle. The bevel (angled portion of the tip) should be pointing upwards when injecting at a 45 degree angle. Push the plunger to inject the medication.
- Withdraw: Remove the needle at the same angle you inserted it.
- Apply pressure: Apply pressure to the injection site with clean gauze or a cotton ball to stop any bleeding. Don’t rub the area.
- Dispose: Put the needle in a sharps container and wash your hands again. If you do not have a sharps container you may place needles in a strong plastic container, such as a Gatorade bottle, but place it in the household trash, not in recycling.
