There are many different insulins for many different situations and lifestyles and there are more than 20 types of insulin sold in the United States. These insulins differ in how they are made, how they work in the body, and price. Insulin is made in labs to be identical to human insulin or it comes from animals (pigs). Future availability of animal insulin is uncertain.

When choosing a syringe, there are four things to consider:

Which insulin concentration it's designed for
Its capacity
The needle gauge (or thickness)
The needle length

Your doctor can help you choose a syringe that's designed for the insulin strength that you use as well as the needle gauge (children often need smaller gauge needles for comfort). For example, if you use U-100 insulin, use U-100 syringes; otherwise, you will inject the wrong amount of insulin.

Common syringe capacities in cubic centimeters (cc) are:

3/10 cc - designed for people who take less than 30 units of insulin per dose.

1/2 cc - works best for doses of 25 to 50 units

1 cc - holds doses up to 100 units of insulin

Choose the smallest syringe barrel that can hold the total insulin dose you need to take. This will make reading the unit increments on the syringe barrel easier.

Bad insulin can head to higher blood glucose levels. Insulin does not get to be kept refrigerated but it lasts longer when it is. All insulin should be discarded after the expiry appointment or 30 days after it was opened and pierced with a syringe, whichever is earlier. Insulin that has been frozen or exposed to any warmth origin should too be thrown away.

Note: If you are using an insulin pen, talk with your doctor or pharmacist about how to use the pen correctly. Giving insulin with these pens is not covered in this information.