needle reuse

[jmoore100]

Hi everyone,

First time posting!

I'm doing a lot of work with people with diabetes and am always looking to get more information about how people live with it on a day-to-day basis.

I just read a study about needle reuse that shows that needles can be reused 4 or 5 times without any noticeable damage or increase in pain.

From people I've spoken with, everyone tries to use the needle once, but sometimes have to use it multiple times.

What are your experiences? When do you use it more than once?

-Jason

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Abstract Title

Reusing Insulin Pen Needles up to Five Times Does Not Increase Pain Intensity and Does Not Lead to Progressive Needle Tip Deformity

_

Abstract Information

Abstract Number:_
897-P

Authors:_
JARDENA J. PUDER, MICHAEL ATAR, BEAT MULLER, MARCO PAVAN, UDO M. SPORNITZ, ULRICH KELLER

Institution:_
Basel, BS, Switzerland

Results:_
In general, diabetic patients are encouraged not to reuse their insulin pen needles due to potential damage to the needle augmenting both pain perception and the presumable risk of lipodystrophy, while the risk of infection is rather small. The consequences of reusing insulin pen needles on pain sensation and on needle tip deformity has not been assessed previously in a controlled study.
We evaluated the effect of reusing either Novofine[reg] or BD Microfine[reg] pen needles one to four times in 5 insulin-treated diabetic patients (all previous non-reusers of needles) on pain perception and needle tip deformity (group A). Median age was 46 years (range 24-56 years) and median BMI 23.7 kg/m[sup2] (range 18.3-30 kg/m[sup2]). In group B, 4 probands [median age 39.5 years (range 33-58 years); median BMI 19.7 kg/m[sup2] (range 17.4-24.2 kg/m[sup2])] injected themselves saline using both types of pen needles one to five times in a blinded manner. Pain intensity and unpleasantness were assessed in a total of 170 injections by using a visual pain analog scale and expressed as percentage of the mean of the first injections. Shape of used needles was evaluated by inspection of images obtained using high resolution scanning electron microscopy (97 x magnification) in all 73 needles by two blinded independent reviewers.
Neither pain intensity nor unpleasantness increased with repeated injections of the same needles in group A (p=0.24 and p=0.3), group B (p=0.11 and p=0.57) or both groups taken together (p=0.7 and p=0.8), and even tended to decrease in the blinded probands. Never-used needles could be differentiated from used needles. However, there was no correlation between the number of times a needle was used and the frequency of usage guessed by both independent reviewers (R=0.151, p=0.1).
In conclusion, reusing pen needles four to five times does not increase pain intensity or unpleasantness and does not lead to progressive needle tip deformity. Reusing pen needles four to five times will lead to substantial financial savings.

[Andrea]

Hi Jason,

Well, now a days i am on a pump, but back in the injection days, i never threw my syringes or my pen needles out after just one use. I would use them at least a handfull of times before tossing them. As for lancets for testing my blood sugar, i don't even count the number of times that i use them. Let's just say that i test 8 times a day and if i change my lancet twice a month, i am lucky. I usually change it when it no longer pokes a hole in my finger!

Andrea

[michelle20]

hey jason i am on the pump to but when i was on shots i would reuse them 3 or 4 times before throwing them away and for lancets i use them 5 or 6 times.

[lgvincent]

I reuse syringes and lancets, too. I do try to clean them with alcohol after each use. I can easily use a syringe 10 times, although you have to be careful with the finer guage needles, I seem to have some trouble with them bending, although I'm not sure if it is from multiple uses, if it is because they are so thin, or perhaps a combination of the two.
I generally use a lancet about a week, and I was checking my blood sugar 8 to 12 times per day, although because of financial distress, I now only check about 5 times per day.

[rzrbks]

lancets? whenever I remember to change them=once a week or so

I have the induo system and change the needle on that about every 3-4 days(I inject before every meal)

syringes? I only use those at night with the lantus and those I use for 7 days then I replace them

[statdeac]

I'm in the reuser camp...2x for standard syringes, once per day (3-5x) for the pen needle. Lancets - weekly.

[jmoore100]

Thanks for the replies!

It's interesting how everyone who has replied so far reuses needles quite often, but so the paper abstract i cited essentially proves what everyone already knows! (A good example of how "official" knowledge of diabetes can lag behind what patients know.)

A man who used syringes once told me that bruising was a problem when you used your needles too much. Is this a concern for others?

And, how do you decide to put on a fresh needle (or use a fresh syringe)?

-Jason

[David]

I'm another pumper, but I also reused syringes and needles many times. I didn't reuse when I mixed different kinds of insulin in the syringe. Those only got used once so the vials wouldn't be contaminated with another insulin. Id also only use a syringe for one kind of insulin (never N one time and R the next) for the same reason. I didn't clean them because I read that alcohol removes the lubricant, but did keep my long-acting syringe in the fridge. I did this for over 20 yrs and never noticed an infection or other bad effect. I reuse lancets too.
David

[Mick]

I began my insulin use with a glass syringe and a permanent needle--maybe 20 gauge, I'm not even sure now--it was LONG and THICK. About twice a month, my father would take it down to his workshop and sharpen it on a whetstone, clean out the bore with a fine wire, and I'd be good to go for another couple of weeks. I destroyed a LOT of subcutaneous tissue before I was switched to disposibles! I was a one-shot user after that, until I went away to college--then I began to reuse twice, and gradually, I'd go for 3-4 injections per needle. When I began fingerstick blood testing, the lancets I'd change when I remembered--a couple of times a month. In the past 2 years, I've switched to a pen for my bolus, and ultra-thin, short needles for my Lantus. They tend to bend very easily. I seldom reuse them. I have re-used pen needles (also the short ultra-fine), but don't like to, and have also gotten away from that. Since I switched glucose meters, my new lancet device doesn't re-cap with the lancet thingie on the top, so I've begun to change lancets daily now--I guess I've gone full circle at least twice!

Michael

[BeckyBoo]

so it's not just me that uses lancets about 10 times each, but syringes i use only once unless i get the used on mixed up with the non used one or i only have one to use. But i can't use them twice on purpose i have trouble with that. Good to know in cas i have to.
Becky

[rzrbks]

when I was still using Humalog with my Lantus I had a syringe placed beside each bottle of insulin so that I would know which syringe went with each insulin---now on Novolog and only have to worry about one syringe

[HeatherP]

I take 5 shots a day. I use each syringe twice, only. I have to say I do notice increased pain and difficulty when using a needle more that that. I re-use lancets all the time, for long periods of time. I use alcohol to clean the injection/finger stick site, so I figure I'm keeping things sterile.