blood in vial

[jared]

I went to push air into the vial of humulog and of course the syringe that I had used this am had blood in it and I pushed in into the vial... what will happen to the blood in the vial. Will it mix and will it hurt the insulin.

[Belinda]

That vial of insulin is now no good and you must discard it. Sorry but it happens. When you had blood in the syringe this am you should not have injected. Do you pull back on the plunger each time before you inject? I was told you must do this prior to injecting insulin and if blood comes into the syringe then you must toss it and start over.

[MarkMunday]

I had a similar experience once, when I was still using syringes. I finished the vial and didn't see a change in my blood sugars. So a bit of blood didn't seem to make any difference to how well the insulin works.

I guess introducing blood into the vial could contaminate the insulin. But as long as it is your own blood and no one else is using the insulin, there shouldn't be a problem.

I have been using pens for many years now and this kind of thing doesn't happen. Pens are a lot more convenient. And because you don't keep on sticking needles into the cartridge, the risk of contamination is probably a lot lower.

Cheers,

Mark

[sparkle9]

When I reuse needles, I don't inject air into the vial. I use them only 2 or 3 times. This seems to keep the insulin in the vial clear.