Insulin Injectors



Insulin injectors have been around since the 70's. They were originally touted as being painless, but at first were not pain free. Diabetics who must give themselves insulin injections up to 4 times per day do seek methods that will result in less pain. However, with time comes tolerance to the ritual of drawing insulin from a vial and into a syringe, and injecting oneself with a thin needle. Today, needles are very thin, commonly available down to 31 gauge, with a lancet point that is extremely sharp. These modern day hollow lances fulfill their task, and do so conveniently, but there is now new competition from the injector version.



Injectors operate by high pressure shooting an ultra-thin stream of insulin that pierces the skin and collects in the underlying tissue. Injectors that were used by the army in the 70's appeared to operate the same way. Lord help the person if the mechanism wasn't flush against the skin of the shoulder when the device was operated. The stream of high pressure medicine, usually a vaccine, was rumored in military quarters to have left bloody messes when the inattentive or hungover medical person failed to hold the injector assembly against a shoulder before pulling the trigger. Fear mongering persisted as lines formed for the vaccinations, and grown men waited patiently for their turn at being the guinea pig.

Early injectors had drawbacks that included being very heavy and very expensive. A diabetic who wanted to try one had to lay out some serious cash, perhaps a thousand dollars. But even when operated correctly, the injectors caused pain. The stream of insulin felt not much different than a cold stainless steel needle pushed through the skin. But today things are different.

4o years of changes in technology can make a big difference in almost anything, and injectors have not been immune (excuse the pun). The injectors today shoot such a thin stream that there is reported to be hardly any pain, at all, and they are much cheaper than the earlier models. There are two types: the spring loaded type, and the CO2 pressurized canister type. The spring loaded type must be cocked each time before using. The CO2 type can perform multiple injections from one CO2 canister. Each has other advantageous and disadvantageous, but the diabetic who is considering trying them out should investigate on his own to become familiar with all the advantageous and disadvantageous.