[beau91]

At the beginning ,i used to used alcohol wipes but not anymore waist of money ,and your skin get's dry On the bottles why not but not necessary.Bye Ricky

[Stuboy]

i dont use alcohol on my skin before injecting... there is a thread on here somewhere that discussed the use of alcohol wipes before injecting...

I seem to remember it being said that using an alcohol wipe is actually more likely to cause an infection than not, something about making the bacteria "angry" because alcohol doesn't actually kill bacteria!!

anyway... i dont use alcohol... i just drink it

[mazea]

I use a non alchohol swab, I think the swabs are called Diabetes Ezy. Maybe I shouldn't bother, sometimes I consider not using them.

You can get infections if you don't use a sterile needle. I used to inject cows with 5 in1 and once gave a batch of cows big lumps, which stayed on their necks for years. . I was told the lump was from not keeping the hot water for cleaning the needles after each cow hot enough. So I suppose keeping a needle hygienic is really important for a cow, and probably a person too. So I always make sure my needle doesn't touch anything and is always new.

The skin is really hygienic though, skin has antibacterial properties I think. I think it;s hygenic because they always say that for a baby, you have to steralise the dummy, but you don't have to clean their thumbs as thumbs are always clean. So it is probably safe to not use the wipes when injecting.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Jill-O

I don't use it.

Honestly, at first glance, I thought you meant the kind you drink... that's how much I don't even think of using an alcohol wipe before injecting.

I thought the same way -- and I don't use that type of alcohol, either.

I probably should start cleaning the vial tops again. I do splash some alcohol on my bicep (and let it evaporate entirely) if I do an IM shot... and I'll disinfect for a subcutaneous if I'm sweaty... but I've otherwise quit doing it.

[alicat61]

Hi,
When I first used insulin I was taught to swab the vial top and skin, Then it was found that the alcohol drys out the skin and makes it harder to inject. I was also told that to swab the vial effectively you would have to do it for over 2 minutes otherwise it was a waste of time (this was by a diabetic centre teaching health profesionals about diabetic education)
I gave up swabbing about 6 months after using insulin and have never had a problem.

[parrotletzoo]

Nope don't use alcohol either. I used to inject through my clothing (ie. shirt. sweater, jeans) too. My endo said it shouldn't be a problem as long as my clothing isn't filthy.

[Tattoo azz]

I don't use a swab either, and like parrotletzoo i stab thru my clothes and have never had a problem. Alcohol wipes are in my opinion a waste of money, alcohol is best served in a glass not in a swab!!

[Stuboy]

here we go...

Alcohol does not kill bacteria- at least not the way it is generally used. It takes 20 minutes of complete immersion in alcohol to kill bacteria. Okay, so you're thinking then why do they use it in the doctor's office before sticking us with anything. Two reasons- 1. we expect it, and 2. it cleans off any surface dirt, which is a good idea.

A study was done back in the late 80s or early 90s (can't find any refernce to it any longer) in England. They took 400 diabetics and split tehm into two groups. One group used alcohol wipes before injecting or testing (in the early testing days), the other did not. There were two patients that got infections- both in the group that used alcohol wipes. My conclusion: alcohol makes .5% of all germs angry, while the rest get drunk and fall asleep.

Cooling in Egypt

[dbdb]

Originally Posted by NoraWI

Iof the skin. Some people aspirate into the syringe before they inject insulin to see whether they are hitting a blood vessel. I don't. .

Can you tell me what this means?
"aspirate"

I'm new to injecting, and use a solostar.

[mazea]

I don't like the sound of the sound of aspirate

[mell1682]

I've been doing shots for 21 years and have never cared to use alcohol pads and I've never had an infection. I also have injected through clothing if I'm too busy...I don't get infected from that but I'm going to stop cuz it's a little barbaric

[IrishJoe]

aspirate is not an ***-pirat e (what ever that is!) its to allow something to flow into the syringe I think. It helps make sure that there is no air blockage.
However if you are injecting sub-cutaneously (SC/sub-cue) [that is under skin but not into a vein or into muscle] then I dont think you need to worry about air bubbles and things

There were two infections reported, both in the alcohol pad group.

that's v. silly ! But I was told not to use alcohol as it could contaminate your blood sugar results. as for injections I'm clean enough I think.

[Richard157]

Me use alcohol? Never! I hate the taste and the odor. No alcoholic drinks for me.

OH!!.wait...you mean alcohol with injections?...LOL!...Yes, I started using alcohol and cotton balls when I was 6 for all injections. That was the year 1945. It became such a habit that I continued when I began giving myself my own injections. Now I use a pump and I clean the site area with a swab. I use swabs every time for my fingersticks too. I dry the alcohol off my fingers before sticking though. If I do not dry them well the mixture of alcohol and blood can give very high test results. Have any of you noticed that?

Richard

[DCaplinger]

I have not used a single alcohol prep pad. I inject straight through the clothing as well.

When I first started out, I used a fresh needle each time. Now, it's not uncommon for me to go through an entire pen with the same needle. I only change once it starts to hurt. I learned this from other people here.

Just FYI, yes... to aspirate means to suck in. In the case of an unconscious person who has vomited, you would roll them on their sides to prevent them aspirating the vomitus into their lungs. Air can be aspirated into the body and cause an air embolism. However, the amount of air that is available through a common insulin syringe is negligible, especially since the needle isn't used to penetrate veins or arteries.

Regards,

[newdb06]

Thank god I am not alone. I feel completely inconvenienced and slowed down for alcohol wipes. I stopped using them the month after I was diagnosed and it has been over 2 years without them.

-Nathaniel