■ Injecting insulin in the right place Insulin should be injected into the subcutaneous fat for most efficient absorption and utilization.
• Injected too deeply, the insulin could be injected into the muscle, accelerating absorption and increasing the risk of hypoglycemia. If the injection is not deep enough, the insulin may leak out and reduce the effectiveness of the insulin.
• The patient’s body mass index (BMI), along with the part of the body being injected and the needle length, determines the angle of injection. A 90°angle is appropriate for areas of the body with more fat -- and less than a 45° angle in areas of the body with less fat, thus avoiding the injection of insulin into muscle. Patients should pinch up a fold of skin to insert the needle at the appropriate angle to the skin fold – to avoid injecting insulin into the muscle. For patients using a 5mm mini-pen needle, no pinch up is necessary because the shorter needle cannot inject into the muscle.