Regular Short-acting insulin

Regular short-acting insulin (also called soluble insulin) is given as a bolus injection before meals.

Basal Insulin Analogues

Basal insulin analogues have effect over up to 24 hours.

Intermediate-acting insulin

Intermediate-acting insulin is used as basal (background) insulin when injecting twice daily and once or more daily in a multiple daily injection regimen.

Intravenous Insulin

Short-acting insulin given intravenously has an extremely rapid action with a half-life (length of time when half of the insulin is broken down) of only 3-5 minutes.

Rapid-Acting Insulin

The new rapid-acting insulin analogues have a much more rapid action than regular short-acting insulin. You can inject them just before a meal and still get a good insulin effect at the time when the glucose from the food reaches the bloodstream. However, the insulin will have less effect after 2-3 hours, and the blood glucose may therefore rise before the next meal. Because of this, a basal insulin that takes effect during the day is usually given.