The Practice and Safety of Injecting Insulin through Clothes among Patients with Diabetes in Bahrain

Background: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus has risen dramatically in the last two decades worldwide and it’s estimated to rise to 642 million in 2040.The prevalence rate of people with diabetic Mellitus in Kingdom of Bahrain is around 14.8% and that of type one diabetes is (3.4%) in 2007. Thousands of people are injecting insulin once or more than two times per day. Injecting insulin technique is vital to preserve correct dose, safety practice of administering insulin. Many people with diabetes have been observed to inject their insulin through clothes for long time and many of the antiseptic techniques which are recommended by the health care professionals are challenged to be unnecessary. Aim: To improve the practice of injecting insulin among diabetes mellitus patients. Objective: To identify possible factors associated with the practice of injecting insulin through clothes amongst patients with diabetes and its safety. Methods: A Cross sectional study. Sample size and sampling technique: The data were collected from 100 diabetic patients who were on insulin therapy in Bahrain. Self-administered questionnaire was formulated for data collection. It contained: demographic data, the practice of injecting insulin through clothes, the possible factors associated with injecting insulin through cloths, and its related complications. Results: Seventy-four (74%) of the subjects were females. Thirty (30%) participants are 20 years old or below. Thirty (30%) participants are injecting insulin through clothes. It was complicated by erythema in (9%), minor bleeding (3%), cellulitis (2%) and Pus (1%). Eight subjects (8%) needed medical treatment and one subject (1%) required surgical intervention for the complication. (17%) of the subjects were using this technique during emergency situations, (12%) of the subjects used it due to embarrassment. Experiencing high blood sugar after injecting through clothes was experienced in (7%) of the subjects. Conclusion: Injecting insulin through clothes is not unusual practice among patients with diabetes which is associated with complications.