Site Rotation: The Simple System That Can Save You From the ER

Good morning, my fellow diabetics.

Whether you are living with type 1, type 2, or anything in between, there are systems you can use to make life with diabetes better — and safer.

One of the strategies I use is injection and pump site rotation.

At the beginning of each week, I write down what my injection site will be for the week. This week, for example, is my left thigh.

Here’s what a full rotation cycle looks like for me:

• Week 1: Left abdomen

• Week 2: Left thigh

• Week 3: Left glute

• Weeks 4–6: Repeat the same sequence on the right side

This gives each area about five full weeks to heal before it’s used again.

These are my personal preferences, but the system can be tailored to you.

If you’re on a pump and only have 2–4 primary areas, try using a “clock method” within that area:

• 12 o’clock

• 3 o’clock

• 6 o’clock

• 9 o’clock

Then shift to the opposite side of the body.

The same principle applies to CGM placement. I wear mine just above the

head of the tricep and rotate left to right side every 14 days.

The Part We Don’t Like to Talk About

Clean your sites.

Every time.

Use an alcohol prep pad. 

Use a fresh needle.

Don’t inject through your shirt. 

Don’t reuse that “favorite” spot.

I learned this the hard way.

Reusing a site and causing bruising — purple, black, blue skin — is a recipe for infection.

I’ve had a staph infection. It was painful, disturbing, and completely avoidable.

It built into a mass under the skin about the size of a softball. The ER doctor had to numb the area and cut it open with a scalpel. Then came the draining, scraping, packing with gauze, and leaving a wick in the wound to slowly heal from the inside out.

It’s not how you want to spend the day after Christmas. 

Or any day.

An ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure.

— Ben Franklin

If you take nothing else from this:

Rotate your sites. 

Clean your skin. 

Use new needles.

Small systems prevent big problems.

If you have a site rotation system that works for you, share it. It might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.

Stay steady,

Taylor Long