Short acting insulins will usually be taken before meals. Short acting insulins may also be called regular or neutral insulin. Your healthcare team can advise on how long before a meal you should take your dose.| Diabetes
Rapid acting insulins are usually taken just before or with a meal. They act very quickly to minimise the rise in blood sugar which follows eating.| Diabetes
Long acting insulin may be prescribed for a number of different types of diabetes. Long acting insulins are available in animal and analogue forms.| Diabetes
Intermediate acting insulins are often taken in conjunction with a short acting insulin. Intermediate acting insulins start to act within the first hour of injecting, followed by a period of peak activity lasting up to 7 hours.| Diabetes
There are a number of types of insulin available. From rapid acting to long acting, from animal insulin through to analogue insulins. Insulin can be categorised by how the insulin is derived and how quickly it acts.| Diabetes
When you are injecting insulin, you should aim to inject into the fatty tissue just underneath the skin. Watch our video guide.| Diabetes
Forgetting to inject insulin can happen to the best of us and is one of the most common reasons for missing an insulin dose.| Diabetes
Insulin pens are common and generally characterised by a different shape and the fact that they use an insulin cartridge as opposed to a vial.| Diabetes
A basal-bolus injection regimen involves taking a number of injections through the day.| Diabetes
Insulin pumps are portable devices attached to the body that deliver constant amounts of rapid or short acting insulin via a catheter placed under the skin.| Diabetes