Insulin is a hormone that signals to liver, muscle and fat tissue to pull sugar out of the blood. Patients with diabetes often must take synthetic insulin to keep their blood sugar from getting too high. However, because insulin cannot be taken orally, patients must turn to other devices to administer insulin.
Syringe
A syringe is the simplest device used for the injection of insulin. Patients using insulin syringes typically use disposable syringes to prevent contamination and infection. To administer insulin, the patient must stick the needle of the syringe into the insulin solution and then pull back on the plunger until the desired amount of insulin is in the syringe. After removing any air bubbles present in the syringe, the patient can stick the needle under the skin and then push the plunger to inject the insulin into the body.
Insulin Pen
Insulin pens are convenient and may cause less pain than syringes for the injection of insulin, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders explains. An insulin pen uses cartridges that are filled with insulin. To use the pen, the patient screws a tiny disposable needle onto the pen and then selects a dose of insulin. The patient then pushes the needle into their skin and hits a button, which causes the pen to automatically release the pre-selected quantity of insulin. Sometimes these pens use disposable cartridges that can be replaced. Other types of pens cannot be refilled and must be thrown away after all the insulin has been used.
Jet Injectors
Jet injectors are similar to insulin pens except that they do not use needles to get the insulin under the patient's skin. Instead, the injectors force the insulin out of the device as a high pressure spray that is able to penetrate the skin. These devices can cause more pain than insulin pens, Islets of Hope reports.
Pumps
One disadvantage of many insulin injection devices is that they are only designed to administer insulin in large boluses, which can cause peaks and valleys in the blood sugar levels in patients. Insulin pumps provide a solution to that problem. These devices, which are worn outside of the patient's body, can be programmed to deliver a steady supply of insulin throughout the day, the Mayo Clinic explains. They can also be programmed to deliver larger boluses of insulin after meals.
Insulin Inhalers
Insulin inhalers deliver insulin by spraying a blast of insulin powder into the patient's respiratory system. As such, they work similarly to other kinds of inhalers, such as those used for asthma. However, these inhalers are not as efficient at delivering insulin into the body, Islets of Health notes, which means patients must use larger quantities of insulin. This can be expensive and may not be covered by insurance policies.
