Made for Pumpers

A Revolution in Injection Site Management

Tartoos (from “targeted tattoos”) are patent-pending* temporary tattoos that offer a simple solution to a daily challenge: making sure to inject insulin, anti-coagulants, or other injectable medications in different locations to avoid lipohypertrophy. In plain English, that’s a lump under the skin caused by a buildup of fat from too many insulin injections in the same place.

Terminology aside, the reason to vary injection sites for diabetics is simple: using the same site too often will cause slower insulin absorption (time to peak may be increased by as much as 30 percent), may affect glycemic control and possibly lead to insulin overdoses and hypoglycemia that may occur due to over correcting.

Learning how to give oneself a shot is a ritual as old as insulin-based self-treatment of diabetes. Even though insulin pumps offer an alternative to multiple daily injections, a majority of people with Type 1 diabetes continues to inject, and will do so tens of thousands of times during their lives. During training, doctors, nurses, and CDEs concentrate on teaching patients proper injection techniques, such as grasping a pinch of fat, and recognizing the proper angle at which to hold a syringe or insulin pen. They also discuss site selection with patients, usually telling the new injectors to picture a clock face on the abdominal area and to rotate the injection sites around the numbers on the imagined clock face.

Tartoos takes the clock face idea in a new and fun direction by making it possible for people with diabetes, or the parents of children with diabetes, to “tattoo” the abdomen and other injection areas with small images that are spaced one inch apart. Tartoos are printed on a 4.5 X 6.5 inch sheet with a removable clear plastic face and a paper backing that will pull away from the images when thoroughly wetted with a cloth for about 30 seconds.

The recommended method for removing Tartoos is to use an antiseptic wipe just before an injection is administered. This has the advantage of disinfecting the site prior to injection. In addition, with the Tartoos image wiped away, the injection location is no longer marked by the Tartoos as available for another injection.

Recommendations and Precautions

1) Never apply a Tartoos injection site management grid to skin that is broken or irritated.
2) It is recommended that application of a Tartoos temporary tattoo grid be spaced at least two (2) inches from the naval for proper injection site management.
3) Trim Tartoos grid to fit body size or injection need.
4) Ensure all temporary tattoo ink is removed before injection is administered.
5) Remove temporary tattoo with antiseptic agent suggested by medical practitioner.
6) Do not scrub with soap and water an area that a Tartoos injection site grid is applied.
7) Never administer an injection through a Tartoos temporary tattoo image.
8) After all Tartoos images have been utilized, place a new injection management grid on a different viable injection space (i.e. opposite side of abdomen, leg etc.) to ensure proper injection site rotation. Adhere to suggested site rotation pattern from medical practitioner.
9) Check with a physician before the initiation of a Tartoos injection management program.

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