Question about using alcohol wipes for vials and cartridges

[Voula]

On the lantus information sheet in the box it says to wipe the top of the vial with an alcohol wipe before inserting the needle to draw the insulin out. I use the pen cartridges and have not used wipes. I thought about it today as when I was putting the cartridge back in the plastic container it sits in I thought I may have briefly touched the rubber part of the cartridge where the needle is inserted but most likely I just touched the plastic around the rubber part. I started wondering if I did touch it very briefly in inserting the cartridge into the plastic container whether I should use an alcohol wipe to clean the rubber part of the cartridge. What do others do?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

The vast majority of us don't use the special needles that come with the pens (we buy regular insulin syringes and withdraw the insulin from the pen). There are problems with using the pen needles....you can't do doses less than 1 unit (like the .25 unit changes we routinely have to make) and when you refrigerate the pen (to keep the insulin lasting as long as possible) the pen mechanism can stop working properly (according to reports on the Lantus site...they say you should NOT refrigerate an "active" pen due to problems with the mechanism---with humans that use a pen up within the 28 days, that's not a problem, but we want it lasting much longer so we need to refrigerate it)

All that being said, a quick swipe of an alcohol swab really kills nothing. To truly sterilize something, it has to be in contact with a sterilizing agent like alcohol for MUCH longer, so it's never really been doing anything in the first place so don't worry about it

 

[Voula]

The vast majority of us don't use the special needles that come with the pens (we buy regular insulin syringes and withdraw the insulin from the pen). There are problems with using the pen needles....you can't do doses less than 1 unit (like the .25 unit changes we routinely have to make) and when you refrigerate the pen (to keep the insulin lasting as long as possible) the pen mechanism can stop working properly (according to reports on the Lantus site...they say you should NOT refrigerate an "active" pen due to problems with the mechanism---with humans that use a pen up within the 28 days, that's not a problem, but we want it lasting much longer so we need to refrigerate it)

All that being said, a quick swipe of an alcohol swab really kills nothing. To truly sterilize something, it has to be in contact with a sterilizing agent like alcohol for MUCH longer, so it's never really been doing anything in the first place so don't worry about it

Thank you Chris. I use regular BD syringes to draw the insulin out of the cartridge or the pen as you call it in order to be able to draw out less than one unit of insulin and to make 0.25 unit changes to doses. Yes you cannot do less than one unit doses if you use the pen with the pen needles I know. I don't use pen needles so just making that clear and what I meant is I may have touched the rubber part of the cartridge where I insert the needle of the regular BD syringe. I wondered then if I contaminated the entrance to the cartridge or the pen as you called it. So then I remembered reading about wiping insulin vials with alcohol and wondered if I should do that and if others do that too. Thank you again.

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

I wondered then if I contaminated the entrance to the cartridge or the pen as you called it. So then I remembered reading about wiping insulin vials with alcohol and wondered if I should do that and if others do that too.

Some have said routinely wiping the vials or pens with alcohol after every use can dry out and crack the rubber stopper... so it never became part of our daily routine. However, I don't think it would be a problem to wipe the rubber end with alcohol occasionally if you think you may have touched/contaminated it.

 

[Voula]

Some have said routinely wiping the vials or pens with alcohol after every use can dry out and crack the rubber stopper... so it never became part of our daily routine. However, I don't think it would be a problem to wipe the rubber end with alcohol occasionally if you think you may have touched/contaminated it.

Thank you Jill for your reply too.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

As a retired R.N. I would not think to insert a needle into a vial of any type of medicine without first using an alcohol wipe. Insulin tends to be more sensitive to any contamination than many other medications. An alcohol wipe is not going to "sterilize" it but it will decrease the possibility of introducing any contaminants into the vial that could render the insulin less affective. And there is no worry about drying out the rubber stopper given the short period (even 6-9 months) we use a vial. Just my two cents worth!

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

And there is no worry about drying out the rubber stopper given the short period (even 6-9 months) we use a vial.

Hmm, mileage may vary on that one. In the past, some of our members have mentioned getting cracks in the rubber stopper. The common denominator was routinely wiping the end with alcohol. I presume it's why I haven't seen the suggestion made in years. With the cost of insulin being what it is and as one who used insulin to the last drop... I can't imagine taking the chance, but to each his own.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

I wasn't suggesting we would normally be using one vial of insulin for 6 months but I seem to recall some folks suggesting they do. The 9 months....well that's a whole new ball game but I can see someone with the larger vials of ProZinc etc. using tiny doses trying to do so. I have been retired from nursing for quite some time and as with everything else these days, perhaps the rubber stopper aren't quite as resilient as they used to be! They probably don't have much real rubber in them at all anymore ............ahhh I think I'm dating myself.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I have used a vial of Lantus for over a year. No wiping for me.