Types of insulin

PEOPLE with diabetes may need different types of insulin at certain times of the day to help them manage their glucose intake from food. There are four types of insulin – rapid-acting, short-acting, intermediate-acting and long-acting.  

Rapid-acting insulin gets into the blood within 15 minutes of injection and reaches maximum activity 30 to 90 minutes later. It has to be administered either five to 15 minutes before eating, while eating, or immediately after eating. It can last from two to five hours but might not last long enough to control blood glucose levels between meals. Thus, a person might need to complement it with a long-acting insulin. The advantage of rapid-acting insulin is the ease of fitting it around mealtimes and controlling peaks in blood glucose levels that happen immediately after eating.