Changing your needles will reduce your likelihood of infection and reduce injection pain, and it's crucial.

Did you know that all injection needles and lancets are one-use-only products?

Managing diabetes is challenging enough without the added risks of re-using needles. In this guide, you will learn the importance of changing your needle and how to minimize the risk of unpleasant outcomes caused by re-using lancets and syringe needles. Here are some of the dangers re-using needles can result in: 

Pain

After the first use of your Insulin needle or lancet, the needle flattens and becomes blunt. This makes it more difficult for the needle to pierce the skin with ease. 

Infection

Bacteria can grow almost anywhere, even on the needles we use to administer insulin. Once needles are removed from their sterile packaging, they become exposed to millions of bacteria. 

Administration interference

If your needle becomes blunt or bent, you may not be administering the correct amount of insulin. The needles we use are very thin, insulin will struggle to pass through the needle if it is blunt, bent or blocked. 

The Hidden Dangers of Re-Using Needles In Diabetes

Re-using your needle will significantly increase your risk of infection. Did you know that people with diabetes are much more likely to develop skin infections compared to non-diabetics? 

Frequent injections create ample opportunities for bacteria to infiltrate your body. Freestyle Libre applicators, Dexcom inserters, and Novopen tips can carry bacteria from your skin directly into your body.

How Bacteria Hitch a Ride

Imagine your Novopen tip as a one-way train ticket for bacteria to enter your interstitial fluid. The moment your needle touches your skin, it picks up bacteria. When the needle is withdrawn, it drags these bacteria back up on its surface. If you re-use the needle, you're then injecting these microbes directly into your bloodstream.

Why You Should Never Reuse Needles (With Photos)

Why Changing Needles Reduces Pain and Infection Risks

Used needles become blunt and can turn into a bacterial scoop. As you re-use a needle, the tip bends, making injections more painful and increasing the number of microbes that come into contact with your skin. Changing your needle every time ensures you're not pre-loading pathogens into your body.

 Above is an image of a needle that has been used once and pulled out, taken using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The orange bits are bacterial cells. When the needle touches your skin, it also touches bacteria on your skin. Generally, a new needle is so fine-tipped it goes in without much issue and comes out okay. 

But when it comes out, it's dragging along the hole it has just created and acquiring bacterial hitchhikers.

When you use this needle again, it's pre-loaded with pathogens, and they've multiplied on your needle tip. So when you inject that next shot of insulin, you're also going to deliver these microbial stowaways directly into your body. From a microbes' perspective, this is a reliable and easy way to get inside their next host - great!

Every time you re-use your needle, you add to the microbial population on the tip. Even if you sterilise your injection site with an alcohol wipe beforehand, you won't be protected. It doesn't matter how clean your skin is when you're inserting bacteria into your body yourself.

Don’t Skimp on Needles – Your Health Depends on It

While it may be tempting to reuse needles to save costs, consider the long-term implications for your health. Even if sterilising the injection site, re-used needles still introduce bacteria into your body.

• Increased Risk of Skin Infections: Re-used needles can introduce bacteria, leading to infections like abscesses or cellulitis.
• Injection Site Abscesses: Re-use can cause painful lumps or abscesses at the injection site.
• Lipohypertrophy: Re-used needles contribute to fatty lumps, affecting insulin absorption.
• Increased Pain and Discomfort: Blunted needles from re-use cause more pain during injections.
• Scarring and Tissue Damage: Re-use can lead to micro-trauma and scarring at injection sites.
• Poor Insulin Absorption: Blunted needles may deliver insulin improperly, leading to unpredictable glucose levels.
• Inflammation and Irritation: Re-used needles can cause chronic inflammation and irritation.
• Transmission of Bloodborne Pathogens: Risk of transmitting infections like Hepatitis B and C if needles are improperly handled.
• Risk of Allergic Reactions: Repeated needle use can increase the risk of developing allergies to needle components.
• Delayed Wound Healing: Re-use can prolong healing times for injection site wounds.

Changing your needles will reduce injection pain

Below is an image showing the tip of a needle after multiple uses, and you cannot see this with the naked eye - do not tell yourself that yours "is fine" because it's not.

Ever notice how re-using the needle gets more and more painful? Well, this is why. As far as a skin cell is concerned, you're trying to inject insulin with a tree trunk.

As the tip bends, you're also building a bacterial scoop. This shape will come into contact with many more microbes, and your risk of infection will go up with each re-use.

Practical Tips for Needle Safety

Here’s what you need to do to stay safe:

1. Always use a new needle for each injection.
2. Clean the injection site with an alcohol wipe before every use.
3. Dispose of used needles properly to prevent contamination.
   

Understanding the Challenges

We understand that changing needles every time might not be feasible for everyone due to cost or access issues. If you cannot change your needle as often as recommended, focus on other ways to minimise risks, such as thoroughly cleaning your injection site.

Balancing Costs with Health Priorities

If cost is a concern, consider re-prioritizing your spending to afford new needles more often. Remember, investing in needles now can save you from costly health issues later.

Change your needle!

So, it's pretty clear that you should be changing your needle every single time. And you need to be cleaning your injection or insertion site every single time. You need to use something with anti-microbial activity to get the best results, like alcohol wipes.

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Unfortunately, this is just impossible for some people. We live in a world where we all suffer from similar diabetes, but none of us have access to equal care. Many people with diabetes cannot afford to use this many needles, and we all have our own circumstances.

So don't feel bad if you can't change your needle, but do feel better about spending money on needles instead of something else you might not necessarily need. You're looking out for yourself, and that's important. For some people, the risks of re-using needles are not as significant as other problems in their lives, and that's okay. They are looking after the sum total of their health and being, and that's the end goal.

We want you to be happier. We hope that this is a solution and that this knowledge helps you reduce your injection pain and reduce any anxiety around skin infections.

Sources & References:

Abe, S., Haraga, I., Kiyomi, F. et al. Bacterial contamination upon the opening of injection needles. JA Clin Rep 4, 61 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40981-018-0197-7

Yutaka Kawakami, Takashi Tagami, Pumping infusions with a syringe may cause contamination of the fluid in the syringe, Scientific Reports, 10.1038/s41598-021-94740-1, 11, 1, (2021).

This article is for informative purposes only and should not be used and is not intended as medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional in all instances.