Wanhai Medical News

Upper arm, abdomen, thighs, buttocks, where does insulin hit for fastest absorption?

2025-03-03 09:43:57 Back to list

Suitable areas of the body for subcutaneous insulin injections are the abdomen, outer thighs, outer arms, and buttocks, mainly because these areas have a layer of insulin-absorbent subcutaneous fat tissue underneath and do not have a large number of nerves.

Abdomen:

Take one of the patient's fists to cover the navel (in addition do not inject insulin, approximately within 5 centimeters of the umbilicus), and inject within a distance of about 1 hand's width on either side of the navel. When injecting in other parts of the abdomen, the needle tends to hit the muscle, and even in obese patients, the subcutaneous fat layer becomes thinner as you move toward the sides of the abdomen.

Arm:

The outer quarter of the upper arm (the outer part of the arm under the deltoid muscle) should be selected for injection.

Thigh:

You should choose the front or outer side for thigh injections to avoid the insulin needle puncturing the blood vessels and nerves (because the blood vessels and nerves of the thigh are distributed on the inner side).

Hip:

The injection site is at least 10 centimeters down from the upper edge of the hip bone (the hip is usually the outer upper part). Insulin is absorbed at different rates at different injection sites. The time required for insulin absorption is fastest in the abdomen, followed by the arms, buttocks and thighs.

The choice of injection site depends on the patient's condition and the type of insulin used:

The ideal injection site for short-acting human insulin: the abdomen;

Fast-acting insulin analogs can be injected at any site;

Intermediate- and long-acting insulin (e.g., intermediate-acting insulin injected at bedtime) or long-acting insulin analogs Ideal injection sites: thighs, buttocks;

Injection sites for premixed human insulin or premixed insulin analogs physically wanted: (morning) abdomen, (evening) thighs or buttocks.

The information is from the Internet and is for reference only.

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