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Thanks, Bill. Just this morning I gave my Levemir shot through two layers of clothing. It was too cold in my house this morning to explose skin <G>. So your blog post was timely!
I sometimes get bruises when I inject the other way, so that wouldn't be a deterrent for me.
A lot of the things we do sound unsterile, but in fact, many of us reuse needles zillions of times and don't get infections. Of course one should never use a needle of any kind hat has been used for another person.
Rubbing with alcohol does very little to sterilize the skin. You have to let something sit for 5 or 10 minutes in alcohol to really sterilize it. Or you could do what we used to do in the lab: dip a loop into alcohol and burn it off so the loop becomes red hot. I don't think I'd want to do this with my skin <G>.
See my comment below regarding my having injected through clothing for nearly 25 years - never with a problem. I also reuse my insulin syringes (and pen needles) and have also never had any sign of infection. I do keep used syringe or pen needles (the latter removed from the pen, of course, and in a sterile container) in the freezer before the 2nd use. I got this bit of advice from a nurse years ago.
I inject through my shirt. I hadn't tried it through jeans and now I won't. But, through the loose fabric of shirt, it's been no problem with insulin and Byetta.
My 10 year old son observed me injecting this way a while back. He said, "wow Daddy, you're tough!! You do it right through your shirt."
I said, "well, you're pretty tough too!"
He said, "that's OK, I don't need to prove it to you right now. You just keep that needle over there!!"
Bill,
Were all the subjects using a syringe or were some using an insulin pen? What about the insulin pen? Isn't the needle too short to go through fabric in a reliable fashion?
cindy
I've been diabetic for at least 15 years (since I was 4, now 19), and nearly every shot is & has been through clothing. At first I used normal needles but switched to insulin pens when they came out, and I haven't had problems with either. No infections, and no more or less bruising despite it being through cottons, jeans or whathaveyou.
Sometimes it's just too much trouble to get to bare skin, especially in the winter, and it's more discreet to take a shot without stripping.
I am a type-1 (i.e. juvenile or natural) diabetic who has had the disease since 1983. Since almost the beginning, I have been injecting my insulin through my clothing, whether at home or in public. At first, I did it for discretion in public only, so as not to alarm anyone who might wonder what I was doing with a needle sticking out of my leg. (In 1984, a restaurant patron called the police and told them another patron was "shooting up" at a corner table! I do have to acknowledge that 24 years ago, however, diabetes hadn't yet received nearly the press it does today.) I've continued the practice for convenience and ease, and I have had no problems other than the occasional spot of blood on my jeans or a small bruise, never a sign of infection.
One caveat: I wouldn't advice injections, through dirty clothing. When I've been out working in the yard or doing dirty housework, I don't tempt fate. I shower and put on clean clothes before injections after such activities. I think that nearly 25 years of injections through my clothing testify to the safety of the practice.
How funny. Everyone yells at me when I inject right through my pants. Well, the way I see it is: I think that it beats me pulling down my pants at work to inject my leg. I have a real hard time anywhere else. It seems to burn unless I do my leg. I am not a shy diabetic. I test everywhere , inject everywhere. Never fails.. getting ready for work, give myself a shot of Novolog and blood on the pants. I am a hairdresser, so I don't think blood on the pants sends the message of a really talented or safe hairdresser.. what do you think. :-)
ANything to make my life easier!!!
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