• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
• Check the appearance of your insulin. If it looks unusual or the vial is damaged, don't use it.
• If you use cloudy insulin, gently roll the vial between your hands 10 times to mix, then gently invert the vial (from top to bottom) 10 times until the suspension has a uniform milky appearance.
• Remove the vial cap and clean the rubber top with an alcohol swab. Let dry.

Technique for mixed insulin syringes:

• Draw the same volume of air as the volume of long-acting insulin you need to inject and inject it into the long-acting insulin vial. Remove the needle without drawing insulin.
• Draw the same volume of air as the volume of short-acting insulin you need to inject and inject it into the short-acting insulin vial. Invert the vial and draw the volume of short-acting insulin you need. If there are air bubbles in the syringe, hold the syringe in a vertical position with the needle pointing upward. Gently tap a finger against the barrel of the syringe to get the bubbles to rise to the top. Slowly push in the plunger until all the bubbles have disappeared.
• Draw the volume of long-acting insulin you need, making sure not to push the plunger. Remove the needle from the vial and recap it immediately. Note:Be careful not to inject cloudy insulin into the clear insulin vial, or vice versa. If this happens, discard the vial.
  If you draw too much insulin, discard the syringe and start over.

Technique for (single) insulin syringes:

• Draw the same volume of air as the volume of insulin you need to inject.
• Stick the needle through the rubber top of the vial and slowly inject the air into the vial.
• Turn the vial upside down and slowly pull on the plunger until you draw the correct volume of insulin. Make sure that the needle is always in the insulin.
• If there are air bubbles in the syringe, hold the syringe in a vertical position with the needle pointing upward. Gently tap a finger against the barrel of the syringe to get the bubbles to rise to the top. Slowly push in the plunger until all the bubbles have disappeared.
• Remove the needle from the vial and recap it immediately.

Injection:

• Preferred injection sites are the abdomen (particularly), thighs and top of the buttocks. Rotating injection sites and injection points is recommended. The skin should be healthy, meaning free of bruises, swelling, scars, etc.
• Clean the injection site with soap and water. If an alcohol pad is used (e.g., at the hospital), allow the skin to dry before proceeding with the injection.
• Inject the insulin and wait 5 seconds before removing the needle from the skin.