What is the impact of missing an insulin injection? Detailed explanation of insulin usage standards!

As a common chronic disease, diabetes brings many challenges to patients' lives. Insulin plays a key role in the treatment of diabetes. However, due to various reasons, patients may miss insulin. This seemingly inadvertent mistake may lead to a series of adverse consequences. Next, let's take a deeper look at the issues related to missed insulin.

The dangers of missing insulin

First, blood sugar levels rise rapidly. The main function of insulin is to promote tissue cells to take up glucose and convert it into energy or store it. After missing insulin, the glucose in the blood cannot be effectively processed, causing a sharp rise in blood sugar levels, which may cause symptoms of hyperglycemia, such as thirst, polyuria, fatigue, etc.

Secondly, long-term missed insulin injections may aggravate diabetes. Continuous high blood sugar levels can damage various organs and systems in the body, especially blood vessels, kidneys, eyes, etc., and increase the risk of diabetic complications such as diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy.

Furthermore, acute complications may occur. Severe hyperglycemia may also induce acute complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state. This is a very dangerous situation. The patient may experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, confusion or even coma. If not treated in time, it may be life-threatening.

Who needs to take insulin?

Patients with type 1 diabetes. These patients can hardly secrete insulin on their own and must rely on exogenous insulin to maintain life and control blood sugar.

Patients with type 2 diabetes also need to use insulin in the following situations: when oral hypoglycemic drugs are ineffective; when under stress, such as surgery, severe infection, etc.; when serious complications of diabetes occur; patients with gestational diabetes may need to use insulin to control blood sugar for the health of the fetus.

Insulin usage guidelines

To ensure that insulin works best and reduce problems such as missed injections, here are some important guidelines for use.

1. Accurately master the insulin injection dosage. This needs to be individualized by the doctor based on the patient's specific condition, blood sugar level, diet, exercise and other factors. Patients should strictly follow the doctor's instructions and must not increase or decrease the dosage on their own.

2. The injection method should be correct. This includes choosing the appropriate injection site, such as the abdomen, thigh, buttocks, etc., and rotating the injection site to avoid repeated injections in the same site that may lead to subcutaneous tissue fibrosis and other problems. During the injection, attention should be paid to disinfection to ensure aseptic operation.

3. Properly store insulin. Unopened insulin generally needs to be refrigerated, with a recommended temperature of 2 to 8°C. Opened insulin can be stored at room temperature for a period of time, usually around 20°C and no more than 25°C. The storage time is within 30 days, and it should also be kept away from direct sunlight.

In addition, patients should closely monitor their blood sugar and communicate with their doctors in a timely manner to adjust insulin dosage and treatment plans based on the results of blood sugar monitoring. At the same time, they should maintain good living habits, such as a reasonable diet and moderate exercise, which will help better control blood sugar.

In short, insulin is an important means of controlling blood sugar for patients who need it. It is crucial to understand the harm of missing insulin, clarify the applicable population, and master the correct usage specifications for the health management of diabetic patients. Patients should work closely with doctors and work together to achieve good blood sugar control and reduce the occurrence of complications.