Long acting insulin (1769)
Key points below
Glargine (Lantus®, Basaglar®, Semglee®), Detemir (Levemir®), ___________________
Why does my child need this medicine?
- Long acting insulin lowers blood sugar levels in children with type 1 or type 2 diabetes throughout the day and night.
- Long acting insulin starts to work in about 2 to 4 hours. It works for about 20 to 24 hours for most people.
- Long acting insulin does not bring blood sugars down quickly and is not used to correct a high blood sugar right away.
What does this medicine look like?
- It comes as a clear liquid in a vial, cartridge or a prefilled pen.
How and when should I give my child this medicine?
- Use an insulin syringe or insulin pen to give this medicine.
- Give it at the same time each day. Most often, this is at bedtime.
- Use a new needle every time you give an injection. Remove the needle after the injection.
- Your health care team will teach you how to do this.
Special advice for giving this medicine with other medicines:
- Do not mix this insulin with rapid acting insulin in a syringe.
- If you give your child rapid acting at the same time as long acting insulin, you must give the two injections in different places of their body.
Possible side effects
- If your child has these or other side effects, tell the doctor, nurse, or pharmacist:
- Low blood sugar. Follow low blood sugar guidelines given by the diabetes clinic.
- Lumps under the skin. This happens if the insulin is given many times in the same spot. Do not give insulin into a lump as it will not work well.
- Allergic reaction (mild): Redness or itching at the injection site.
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Allergic reaction (moderate or severe): Call your doctor or nurse right away if your child has:
- Rash all over the body
- Trouble breathing (call 911)
- Fast heart rate
- Sweating
How to store insulin and throw out insulin
Keep this medicine out of the reach of young children.
- Keep unused insulin in the refrigerator between 36 to 46°F.
- Unused insulin is good until the expiration date when it is kept in the refrigerator.
- Once you take insulin out of the refrigerator to use it, it is good for 28 days.
- Mark the date you start using the insulin on the pen or bottle.
- Keep used insulin at room temperature (less than 86° F) and do not put it back in the refrigerator.
- Insulin will stop working if it freezes or gets too hot. Read the package insert.
- Store insulin pens with the cover on.
- Throw the insulin away after 28 days after starting to use. Do this sooner if it becomes cloudy or you see something floating in the bottle or cartridge.
- You can throw insulin away in the garbage.