Many diabetics have the need to take insulin, and this means using a means for injecting the insulin. There are different devices that can be used for injecting the insulin; the first of these is a syringe with a small needle that is used on the arm, leg or stomach, which is pierced just under the skin.

There is insulin pens, these in some cases are less painful than using a standard needle syringe, and look like a pen that has a cartridge. These can come with a replaceable cartridge or they can come as a disposable pen. In either case they have a short fine needle that is on the tip of the pen that is placed on the pen prior to the injection and a plunger on the end of the pen is used to inject the insulin into the body.

Another of these devices is the external insulin pump; this is a device approximately the size of a deck of cards, weighing about three ounces. This external insulin pump is worn on a belt or carried in a pocket and has disposable plastic cartridges. The needles and plunger are temporarily attached to the device so that insulin can be delivered to the body.