Use Pen Needles Only Once

Modern pen needles, like Clickfine, are extremely thin and sharp, and are coated with a lubricating film. This results in a gentle and comfortable injection - but what can happen if you use a pen needle more than once?

While many people with diabetes reuse their pen needles for convenience or savings, reusing a pen needle can be more painful and cause problems or harm.

Here are some really good reasons why you should use your pen needles once - and not reuse them:

• Increased injection pain and injuries. The tip of a reused pen needle can become blunt or bent, and the easy-glide coating may wear away causing more pain, bleeding, small injuries and bruising at the injection site
• Tissue hardening. Injuries or even bleeding at the injection site may lead to tissue hardening or lumps of fatty tissue (lipodystrophy)*
• Infection. Once used, a pen needle is no longer sterile so there's an increased risk of infections
• Needle clogging. Insulin can crystallize in a reused pen needle, causing it to be clogged and the injection unsafe
• Inaccurate dosing. Leaving a pen needle attached to a pen after use can also cause the medication to leak out or air bubbles to form in the cartridge, resulting in a wrong dose

Clickfine pen needles are high-quality, sterile, single-use needles. Using them only once ensures a healthy, clean and effective injection.

*Injections into hardened tissue (lipodystrophy) affects insulin absorption making the insulin dose effectiveness difficult to calculate. The consequences are unexplainable blood sugar fluctuations.

What the microscope reveals

The tip of a pen needle may be damaged after just one use. While not visible with the naked eye, that damage may become even worse with each reuse. The following magnified photos show a new needle and the types of damage that can take place as a needle is used and reused.