To pinch up or not to pinch up?

[Georgia]

Should I pinch up my skin before injecting? I pinch up but I hear others don't. Am a bit baffled :dontknow:

[spike]

Should I pinch up my skin before injecting? I pinch up but I hear others don't. Am a bit baffled :dontknow:


When I used to give myself shots before pumping I'd pinch slightly just to give the skin enough tautness for the needle to make it's way easily through the skin. Try both methods and use whichever is the most comfortable for you.

[DeusXM]

Always pinch up. That way you'll inject into subcutaneous fat, rather than a vein or a muscle, which will give you all sorts of problems.

[lgvincent]

I used to but I rarely do now.

[Georgia]

I thought there was a reason to pinch up. Does the size of the needle have anything to do with it? I use the 0.25 x 8mm. Thanks

[sofaraway]

pinching means you get into the fat layer and not the muscle.

[jeggeman31]

When I was on MDI I pinched every shot I gave myself

[Georgia]

Thanks guys - glad I'm doing the jabs correctly after all :)

[DeusXM]

With 8mm needles you'll need to pinch. You might be able to get away with not pinching with 5mm.

[Georgia]

Ah that explains it - ta.

[poodlebone]

I pinched in the beginning but then stopped, especially when I moved from 2 shots a day to MDI. With MDI I usually gace my meal insulin right through my clothes, so it was impossible to pinch. Sometimes I'd remember with my long acting insulin shots, but rarely.

[beveykin]

I tend to pinch up in my legs, but arms and bum are just that bit more difficult

[JasonSmithMT]

With the 5mm you can do a no-pinch injection. All other lengths it is usually recommended to pinch.

Some might find this interesting:

http://www.bddiabetes.com/us/forprofessional/pdf/5mm-insulin-guidelines.pdf

Jason

[Jinx13]

I'm new at injecting and my tummy has bruises the size of silver dollars all over it now. I'm doing something wrong, obviously. There's no pain when I inject. Just those ugly splotches of bruise.

And I pinch. The doc told me that was the way.

[sofaraway]

I'm new at injecting and my tummy has bruises the size of silver dollars all over it now. I'm doing something wrong, obviously. There's no pain when I inject. Just those ugly splotches of bruise.

And I pinch. The doc told me that was the way.

coudl you try using shorter needles? that might help some?

[Jinx13]

coudl you try using shorter needles? that might help some?


I'm using 8mm, 31 gauge needles. I have no idea what size those are in the bigger domain of needles. Can someone tell me?

[Simon]

The abdomen has lots of blood vessels which makes it tricky to inject without bruising. Shorter needle certainlt help though I've started injecting in my side as it's softer and less prone to bruising. If you inject in good light you can see the blood vessels and avoid them.

[kidg]

I'm new at injecting and my tummy has bruises the size of silver dollars all over it now. I'm doing something wrong, obviously. There's no pain when I inject. Just those ugly splotches of bruise.

And I pinch. The doc told me that was the way.

Make sure to rotate your injection site regularly. Injecting in the same area too often can cause irritation and scarring of the subcutaneous fat. Also, if you don't pinch up enough at the injection site, you could hit a small blood vessel. I usually get bruises after one of these "bleeders". For such a minor trauma, these tiny drops of blood turn into such hideous wounds and take such a long time to go away.

In order to minimize bruising, I rotate my injection site from left to right over the course of a week. (Sunday inject on my left side and move along my torso each day so that by Saturday I'm injecting on my right side. Then I move back to the left again on Sunday. I also take AM injections above the navel and PM injections below the navel.) I sometimes inject 4-6 times a day which makes it difficult to remember where the last injection site was. This technique helps elimitate the guesswork. (However, I still do get bruises from time to time...just a lot fewer)

[KickStart101]

I pinch up 'cuz it works out better and I find it doesn't hurt as much.

[Cyborg]

I don't pinch. I just stick, push, and pull.

[Georgia]

Tried the 5mm for a few days (no pinch) & have found they hurt more than the 8mm needles (with pinch) :nurse: Hmm....

[Just_Plain_John]

I'm new at injecting and my tummy has bruises the size of silver dollars all over it now. I'm doing something wrong, obviously. There's no pain when I inject. Just those ugly splotches of bruise.

And I pinch. The doc told me that was the way.

I've gotten bruises occasionally also (still fairly new at shooting). I use the 8mm ultrafine size with pens.

What I found was that when I select a spot to stick, if I feel a significant prick I am likely to skewer a small capillary and get a little bleed and the bruise. I just move a little distance if there is a significant sensation, and at the new spot I usually never feel a thing, and have no bruise or bleed.

Your technique will get better also, as you stick keep it smooth, don't tilt the needle afterward, keep the angle constant. Don't stick deeper as you work the plunger to inject, and withdraw smoothly.

Lastly if you bruise, a little Aspercreme (or anything with a salicylate) applied to the site will clear it up quicker.

I also rotate sites - belly, sides and thighs for Humalog, and butt for Lantus.
I found splitting the Lantus into two smaller injections helped also - one big shot tends to make me bruise, but two smaller ones don't.

[Lorna]

I always pinch, but think that is more habit from when the shortest needle you could get was 12mm.

[Cyborg]

I always pinch, but think that is more habit from when the shortest needle you could get was 12mm.

I use BD Ultra-Fine II Shorts. They are 31 gauge and 8 mm in length.