Use the needle specified for your pen
Check the supplied leaflet and ask the pharmacy which needle type and size fit your pen. A needle that screws on is not proof of the right match. If needles are missing from an order, ask for the correct supply. Do not borrow a substitute you are unsure about.
A fresh needle for each injection cuts the risk of blockage, contamination and a damaged tip. Reusing needles to save supplies is unreliable. Add needles to your repeat order so injection day never arrives before the equipment does.
Handle the needle safely
Study the diagrams showing the outer and inner caps. Both have a job, and an inner cap left on can stop the medicine reaching your skin. After injecting, follow the manufacturer's removal sequence. Do not touch the exposed needle or leave an uncapped needle where someone may get hurt.
Take the needle off after each use. Storing the pen with a needle attached can cause leaks, blockages and other device faults. Put the pen cap back on and return the pen to its proper storage place before you tidy away the rest.
Get a sharps container before you start
Use a purpose-made sharps bin, kept upright and out of reach of children and pets. Never put loose needles in household rubbish or recycling. Drinks bottles and thin plastic tubs are no replacement for an approved sharps container.
Ask your council, prescribing service or pharmacy how collection and disposal work in your area. Services differ, and a community pharmacy may not accept a sharps bin without an arrangement in place. Find out how to close and hand over a full bin before it reaches the fill line.
Pens and leftover medicine
A FlexTouch pen with the needle removed and a single-dose auto-injector may need different disposal. Follow the leaflet and your local instructions for the device you have. Ask the pharmacy about returning unused or expired medicine. Never pour medicine down the sink or draw some out to use later.
Liquid left in a pen after its four prescribed doses is not a fifth measured dose. Drawing the liquid out with a syringe leaves the dose, sterility and compatibility in doubt. The same goes for combining leftovers from different pens.
If you injure yourself with a needle
After an accidental needlestick, let the wound bleed gently, wash with soap and running water, cover the wound and get medical advice promptly. Do not suck the wound. Tell the clinician whether the needle had been used, by whom if you know, and when the injury happened. The answers guide their risk assessment.
Never share a pen, even with separate needles. Preventing blood-borne infection depends on treating each pen as personal to one user. Safe disposal is part of your treatment as much as the injection itself. If someone helps you inject, make sure they know the removal and disposal steps too.
Sources
Your own medicine leaflet and prescriber come first. A source from another country does not mean the same rule applies in the UK.
- Wegovy FlexTouch patient leaflet medicines.org.uk
- GOV.UK: request clinical waste collection gov.uk
- HSE: needlestick and sharps injuries hse.gov.uk
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