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Forgotting or losing insulins

Everyone forgets things occasionally. It's important that you are familiar with your own insulin preparations and carefully monitor your blood sugar, to decide the best course of action when, for instance, you leave your insulin behind when leaving home.

If in the morning rush to work you left your rapid-acting insulin at home but have taken your long-acting insulin, you can opt for a low-carbohydrate meal at lunch, such as a chicken or fish salad with sparkling water.

Should you forget your insulin at home while traveling domestically, you can obtain the missing insulin from a pharmacy based on the electronic insulin prescription valid in your home country. You can check the validity of your own prescriptions on the Omakanta service.

Abroad, insulins are available under their generic names, even if the pharmacy sells them under different brand names.

In an emergency, if your own type of insulin is not available, you can use a corresponding insulin with a similar effect. All rapid-acting insulins have a similar duration of action, while there are more variations in the duration and manner of action of basal insulins.

In an emergency, instead of missing basal insulin, you can also inject rapid-acting insulin every 3–4 hours. For example, if the daily dose of basal insulin is 24 units, you could inject 4 units every 4 hours.

Updated 7.11.2023