Possible complications of insulin therapy

Failure to comply with the rules of insulin therapy leads to various complications. Let's consider the most common ones:

1. Allergic reactions – most often occur at the injection sites, but can manifest as generalized urticaria, anaphylactic shock. Their occurrence is associated with a violation of the injection technique, the use of thick needles or their repeated use. The painful condition occurs when a too cold solution is injected or the injection site is chosen incorrectly. Also, the occurrence of allergies is facilitated by a break in treatment for several weeks or months. To prevent it after a break in treatment, only the human hormone should be used.
2. Hypoglycemia is a decrease in blood sugar concentration. This complication is accompanied by its characteristic symptoms: profuse sweating, tremors of the extremities, rapid heartbeat, feeling of hunger. Hypoglycemia develops with an overdose of medication or with prolonged fasting. The complication can occur against the background of emotional experiences, stress, after physical overwork.
3. Lipodystrophy – develops in areas of frequent repeated injections. Leads to the breakdown of adipose tissue and the formation of a compaction (lipohypertrophy) or depression (lipoatrophy) at the site of the lesion.
4. Weight gain – this complication is associated with an increase in the caloric content of food and an increase in appetite due to hunger when lipogenesis is stimulated by insulin. As a rule, weight gain is 2-6 kg, but if all the rules of rational nutrition are followed, this problem can be avoided.
5. Visual impairment is a temporary complication that occurs at the beginning of hormone administration. Vision is restored on its own within 2-3 weeks.
6. Sodium and water retention in the body - swelling of the lower extremities, as well as increased blood pressure are associated with fluid retention in the body and are temporary.

To reduce the risk of the above-mentioned pathological conditions, it is necessary to carefully select injection sites and adhere to all the rules of insulin therapy.

Lipodystrophy with insulin therapy

One of the rare complications of insulin therapy, which occurs with long-term and regular traumatization of small peripheral nerves and vessels with a needle, is lipodystrophy. The disease develops not only due to the administration of the drug, but also when using insufficiently pure solutions.

The danger of complications is that they disrupt the absorption of the administered hormone, causing painful sensations and cosmetic defects of the skin. The following types of lipodystrophy are distinguished:

• Lipoatrophy

Due to the disappearance of subcutaneous tissue, a pit is formed at the injection site. Its appearance is associated with the body's immunological reaction to poorly purified preparations of animal origin. Treatment of this problem consists of the use of small doses of injections of highly purified hormone along the periphery of the affected areas.

• Lipohypertrophy

This is the formation of infiltrates on the skin, i.e. seals. It occurs when the technique of drug administration is violated, as well as after the anabolic local action of injections. It is characterized by a cosmetic defect and a violation of the absorption of the drug. To prevent this pathology, you should regularly change the injection sites, and when using one area, leave a distance of at least 1 cm between punctures. Physiotherapy procedures of phonophoresis with hydrocortisone ointment have a therapeutic effect.

Prevention of lipodystrophy comes down to following these rules: alternating injection sites, administering insulin heated to body temperature, slowly and deeply injecting the medication under the skin, using only sharp needles, and carefully treating the injection site with alcohol or another antiseptic.