Insulin Pens - Children with Diabetes

Using a pen is quite easy. Once the cartridge is loaded, you simply screw on a pen needle, prime, if needed to clear out any air in the cartridge, dial the desired dose, inject the needle, and press the button to deliver the insulin. If you use a pen with an insulin suspension, such as NPH or a premixed insulin, you will need to gently shake the pen to be sure the insulin is mixed prior to use. Pens are easy enough for kids to use, and are excellent for use at school or while out and about.

Pen needles should be removed after each use to prevent air from entering the cartridge and to prevent insulin from leaking out. There are many different pen needles available, in varying lengths and diameters (see above).

The smallest pen needles are very short and very thin and help minimize the discomfort of injection. Unlike syringes, pens need to be held in place for several seconds after the insulin is delivered to ensure that no insulin leaks out. Syringe users who switch to pens should pay close attention to the injection site and test their blood glucose often as they become accustomed to pen injections.

Dosing increments vary by pen, with some pens starting at 1/2 or 1 unit and allowing 1/2 unit dosing, while others dose in one or two unit increments. While pens offer injection convenience, they don't allow mixing of multiple insulins, so if you inject short and long acting insulin together (e.g., Humalog and Lantus), you'll double your number of injections.

Pens offer repeatability in dosing accuracy compared with syringes. Also, because dosing with a pen involves dialing a mechanical device and not looking at the side of a syringe, insulin users with reduced visual acuity can be assured of accurate dosing with a pen.