January 11, 2002
Blood Tests and Insulin Injections
Question from Baltimore, Maryland, USA:
I recently received an injection of penicillin, and I experienced pain around the injection site which radiated down my leg for three days. Do people with diabetes who inject insulin experience the persistent pain like I experienced from the antibiotic? I am curious since I administer four injections of insulin per day to my four year old son.
Answer:
People with diabetes shouldn’t have any altered sensations from injections, nor should folks without diabetes. A penicillin injection is in the deep muscle. That has a tendency to be quite sore for sometimes a week. In addition, the pain can radiate down the leg if a nerve in the muscle is irritated by the injection or the penicillin. That pain will subside and is not unusual with a penicillin injection.
Injections of insulin are given into fat — not muscle. They are typically painless when given with appropriate technique.
MSB
