Insulin

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Mixing Insulin

When mixing insulin, please follow these directions:

• Wash hands.
• Collect insulin bottles, syringe, and alcohol swab.
• Roll cloudy insulin between hands. Never shake bottles.
• Wipe tops of insulin bottles with alcohol swab.
• Inject air into cloudy insulin bottle and remove needle.
• Inject air into clear insulin bottle. Leave the needle in the bottle and turn upside down.
• Pull up and down on plunger to coat syringe with clear insulin. Make sure there are no air bubbles, then set plunger on correct dose.
• Remove needle from clear insulin and insert into cloudy insulin.
• Turn upside down and carefully pull plunger down to the total dose of insulin. Remember to NEVER push back into bottle after you have already mixed!
• Remove syringe from cloudy bottle. Do not touch anything with the needle.
• Select the site for injection and wipe with alcohol.
• Pinch up the skin, insert the needle all the way in. Push the plunger all the way in. Let go of your pinch before you pull the needle out. This will prevent insulin from leaking back out.

Hints

Remember you always draw up clear before cloudy.

Another way to remember this: you always want a CLEAR day before a CLOUDY day!

Also, "when in doubt, throw it out." If you overdraw insulin you need to start over.