Diabetes : A few things to remember (BD Medical - Diabetes Care)

There are lots of things you’ll have to think about now that you have diabetes. Here are a few things you should always remember.

Insulin vials or cartridges that are not open should be stored in the refrigerator but you can keep your opened insulin bottle or cartridge at room temperature for up to a month.

However you need to be careful not to expose your insulin to extreme temperatures (very cold or very hot temperatures) and never use insulin after the expiry date.

Injecting through clothes
Even though it may sound handy, it is important not to inject through your clothes especially if you wear jeans! Why?... because:

• It is difficult to make a correct lifted skin fold when injecting through clothes.
• You can bend or blunt the needle, which would make the injection hurt.
• You won’t be able to see if you have bled or if some insulin has leaked out.

Reuse
It is important not to reuse your syringe or your pen needle. Syringes and pen needles should only be used once. Reuse may bend or blunt the needle tip making injections become more painful and possibly causing lumpy sites called lipos to develop.

To dispose of your needles safely you can clip off the needle with a BD Safe Clip^TM and/or put your used syringe or pen needle in a suitable sealable container. When it is full, give it to your parents who will know what to do with it.

Where can I find more information about diabetes?
There are loads of education leaflets you can read to learn more about diabetes: at your hospital, at your GP or by contacting Diabetes UK.

You can also participate in group meetings, at your hospital for example. You may also attend summer camps with other children with diabetes or even log on to the Internet!