Hormone replacement therapy, insulin, injectable nutrition and GLP-1 drugs are all administered through syringes. While the type of health condition you are managing and your health care practitioner’s specific advice will determine what kind of syringes and needles you need, you might run into problems when switching medical suppliers or pharmacies or if the particular syringes you typically use go out of stock.

So, even when keeping to your doctor’s recommendations, learning how to read the measurements on different types of syringes is worthwhile. Knowing how to calculate your dosage in milliliters (mL), cubic centimeters (CC) and insulin units ensures you can always find suitable medical supplies.

With these straightforward guidelines, you will find purchasing the proper syringes and needles for your injectable medication easier and managing your health more straightforward.

Types of Syringes and Needles

Syringes for injectable medications are available in different types and sizes. The size of the syringe determines how much medication it can hold. Needles come in different gauges and lengths. The type of syringe and size of needle you use depends on your prescription from your health care provider.

The Different Syringe Sizes

Syringes usually use mL or CC as the unit of measurement, but insulin syringes measure in units. Luckily, it’s easy to know how many units equal 1 mL and even easier to convert CC to mL.

With insulin syringes, 1 unit equals 0.01 mL. So, a 0.1 mL insulin syringe is 10 units, and 1 mL is equal to 100 units in an insulin syringe.

When it comes to CC and mL, these measurements are simply different names for the same measurement system — 1 CC equals 1 mL.

Your health care provider will always recommend the right syringe size for your specific dosage needs. If your syringe doesn’t use the same measurement as your prescription, you can still figure out your dosage by converting between units, mL and CC.

For example, suppose your medication dosage is 1.5 mL. If your syringe is measured in units, multiply your dosage in mL by 100 to get the dose in units:

  • 1.5 mL x 100 units per mL = 150 units

Syringes are available in several standard sizes. Here are some common sizes for syringes:

  • 0.5 mL or 50 units: The 50-unit insulin syringe is also known as a 0.5 mL insulin syringe. This syringe has marks on every 1 unit or 0.01 mL.
  • 1 mL or 100 units: A 100-unit insulin syringe holds 1 mL. These syringes have thin line marks for every 0.01 mL and thicker marks for every 0.05 mL.
  • 3 mL or 300 units: A 3 mL syringe holds 300 units. This syringe size is used for larger medicine doses. Like the 1 mL syringe, it has thin marks every 0.01 mL and thick marks every 0.05 mL.

The Different Needle Gauges

Needle width is measured in gauges. Thinner needles have larger gauge sizes. For most people, the smaller the needle size, the less painful the injection. This is the main reason to use a thinner needle, but doctors may recommend smaller needles for several other reasons.

The right needle size for you depends on the medication’s viscosity, the injection site, the depth of the injection and a few other factors.

The most common needles use a gauge range of between 26 and 31. Still, your healthcare provider will suggest the most suitable gauge size while considering your dosage and syringe size needs.

The Different Needle Lengths

As mentioned, the syringe needles are also available in different lengths. The length of the needle determines how far it can go into the skin.

Subcutaneous injectable medications use short needles because they only need to pierce through the skin. Intramuscular medications use longer needles to penetrate into the muscle.

The most common needle lengths for subcutaneous medications are ½ inch and 5/16 inch. Needles for intramuscular medications are typically 1 inch or even 1.5 inches.

Commonly, smaller syringes use shorter needles. For a 0.3 mL syringe, you will generally need a 3/16-inch needle, while a 0.5 mL syringe uses a 5/16-inch needle, and a 1.0 mL syringe will need a ½-inch needle.

Sometimes, a needle of an appropriate gauge and length is included with your choice of syringe size when purchasing this kind of medical supply. But if you buy these components separately, you might need to determine which needles are best.

Merging These Measurements to Determine the Right Dosage

If you use injectable medications for a chronic condition, you know how important it is to measure the liquid medication precisely. However, syringe and needle sizes can vary quite a bit. As a result, figuring out which syringes to use can feel overwhelming — especially if you are switching to a new medicine or a different pharmacy that only has syringes with unfamiliar measurement systems.

Listening carefully to your health care provider’s dosage instructions is essential. Moreover, read the medication volume levels on the label correctly. It’s best always to use the syringe recommendations from your health care provider.

If you aren’t too confident about choosing syringes and figuring out your dosage, It’s best to consult your doctor. Whether you need to convert CC to mL, figure out which needle size is best or don’t know which syringes are the most suitable, your health care provider will be able to answer all of your questions and provide additional helpful advice.

Contact Hann’s Fertility Pharmacy for Fertility Injection Support

If you’re concerned about sourcing the correct medical supplies to administer the specific amount of medication you need, you’re not alone. It can feel intimidating to use injectable medicine.

Hann’s Fertility Pharmacy understands that finding the right fertility medication injection syringes and needles can be difficult. Whether you need advice on the proper syringe size or the best needle gauge or simply want confirmation that you are using the right injectable medication tools, reach out to one of our experienced pharmacists at 703-454-8576. Contact us to order your prescription today or to learn more about our products and services.