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February 19, 2005

Aches and Pains, Blood Tests and Insulin Injections

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Question from San Jose, California, USA:

I am a 16 year old girl who has had diabetes for 6 years. I use a pump, but also take Lantus at night, and NPH in the morning. Every time I take a shot or put my pump site in, I get a scar. I was wondering if there is anything that I can do about this. I haven’t asked my doctor about this but over the past few weeks, it has been getting a lot worse. The skin where the site goes in turns purple and does hurts a lot. Is there anything else that I can do to help this?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

It is near impossible to make a judgment of skin changes without seeing a patient. This Internet forum is not set up for the type of question you inquire about. You should see your physician or perhaps even better, a certified diabetes nurse educator to observe your injection and insertion technique so that this purple color change and “scarring” that you describe can be seen and assessed.

The purple color and the bit of pain suggests some bleeding under the skin. A “scar” takes weeks to form so I don’t think from your description you are truly scarring, unless the irregularities are persistent.

If it has been getting a lot worse, then that is a reason to see your health care team.

DS