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Bubbles

B

benjygirl

Well-Known Member
Messages
127
Location
Southampton
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
disrespectful people
Recently I have noticed bubbles in some of my Levemir vials. I have discarded them and put in a new one. Does anyone know if its safe to use insulin with bubbles in it ? I erred on the safe side.
 
benjygirl said:
Recently I have noticed bubbles in some of my Levemir vials. I have discarded them and put in a new one. Does anyone know if its safe to use insulin with bubbles in it ? I erred on the safe side.
Click to expand...


All I do is dial up a few units on the pen then hold it upright, tab the side of the vial a few times until the bubbles rise to the top then do an air-shot, usually this is sufficient to clear the bubbles, if not repeat and they'll soon clear!
 

I get a bubble on just about every vial and have never successfully cleared them. I just have to give up towards the end of the vial to ensure I don't inject it by mistake.
 
Air-shot of 2-3 mil should sort it out.
 
There is a technique that I use that is pretty effective at not letting air into the pen. Following a recent discussion on here regarding the fact that the needles are supposed to be single use, I decided to start disposing the needles after each use.

The instructions that come with the insulin state that to remove the needle you should put its transparent case back over the needle and unscrew it. Doing this doesn't seen to let the air in. What does let the air in is putting the small needle cover back on the needle. When it clicks down it forces some air into it.

I've probably not explained this very well but, following the instructions in the insulin pack for needle removal seems to work well!
 

Unfortunately this is what I do every time! Discard the coloured mini cap bit, but put back on the bigger transparent-ish bit to remove the needle.

I've never used a needle more than once, so not the culprit for me! I've just resigned myself to them being there, I tilt the pen so the bubble is away from the needle when I'm using. And then I end up ditching the vial with about 10 or 15 units left just to be on the safe side.
 
Oh well, guess that isn't the culprit! The instructions also say to chuck the pen out when you get down to 12 units, I suppose because it just gets contaminated with air. I know I've accidentally injected air into me a few times. I don't think it does any harm, just means that the dose is less accurate.
 
Unless you've a quarter air to 3 parts insulin, I can't see this being a major problem. Chuck and get a new one out. I've only had a tiny fraction of air in any pen over 3 and a half years. Maybe a production fault, may be how you use your needle-tips, who knows? The main thing is "are you managing your diabetes?". I can moan about the prickers hurting and not getting enough blood out, but what's the point. Companies like bayer/novo nordisk aren't going out of their way to upset us, quite the opposite as they have massive contracts. I'm glad they are there for us all along with others. Keep well.
 
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