Stiff or shaky hands and insulin injections
Fitting a tiny pen needle and taking it off again is hard with stiff, weak, numb or shaky hands. NeedleBay takes the needle out of your fingers: it is held in the case at every step, so you screw the pen on and off, and the needle stays put.
NeedleBay is a pen needle case with four bays. New needles go in exactly as supplied, with the seal on. Used needles come off inside the case and stay locked there until the sharps bin, the yellow box for used needles. On a weekly pen it is the same job once a week instead of four times a day, and the same tiny needle.
Why is the needle the hard part?
Peeling the seal, lining the needle up, screwing it on, then getting a used one off without touching the point: four fiddly jobs a day.
Reduced dexterity, like stiff or shaky hands, has many causes. Arthritis, trigger finger, Dupuytren’s and carpal tunnel make small parts painful to grip, and a weak thumb makes a tiny needle hard to turn. A tremor, including the tremor that comes with Parkinson’s, makes lining it up harder again. Neuropathy, numb fingertips, means you may not feel a needle point at all.
In a study of pen-needle injuries among hospital staff, 60% happened while the needle was being taken off the pen. With NeedleBay, the used needle comes off inside the case.
Almost 40% of needlestick injuries among hospital workers happen to someone other than the person who used the needle. With NeedleBay, used needles stay locked away until they drop into the sharps bin.
UK injection guidance says each pen needle should be used once and taken off straight after the injection. With NeedleBay, a new needle waits in each bay and the used one comes off in the case straight away.
How does NeedleBay help with each step?
| Challenge | How NeedleBay helps | What does it |
|---|---|---|
| Numb fingertips cannot feel a needle point | You do not pick up a used needle: the pen goes back in the bay and unscrews | Unscrew into the bay |
| Stiff fingers make small parts fiddly | The needle is held in its bay, so you twist the pen in with no tiny needle to grip | Click-lock clamp holds each needle |
| A needle left on the pen tends to get reused | A new needle waits in each bay, so a new needle every time is the easy option | One needle per bay |
| Every new needle has a seal to peel off | With the needle held fast, peeling the seal is a single pinch and pull | Needles go in as supplied, seal on |
In practice: hold the NeedleBay in one palm and turn the pen with the other hand.
Is NeedleBay a pen needle remover?
In effect, yes. A pen needle remover is anything that gets the used needle off the pen without your fingers near the point. With NeedleBay you screw the pen back into the bay the needle came from, then unscrew the pen. The needle stays behind, locked in its bay, and the pen comes away clean. There is nothing small to grip and nothing to pull. It holds up to four used needles until you reach a sharps bin.
Is it safer for the people around me?
A needle stick at home usually happens to somebody else: the person emptying a bin, changing a bed or reaching into a bag.
| Challenge | How NeedleBay helps | What does it |
|---|---|---|
| Taking a used needle off the pen is when most injuries happen | The used needle comes off inside the case, not in your fingers | Needle removed within the bay |
| Family and carers often clear away used needles | Release the click-lock and the used needles drop into the sharps bin without being touched | Click-lock release |
| Loose used needles put the next person at risk | Used needles stay in the case until you empty it, nothing loose to find later | Needles stay inside until release |
How do I use it?
Four bays fit a four-injection day on basal-bolus insulin, that is a long-acting dose plus one with each meal. Fewer injections? The bays last longer.
NeedleBay is a purely mechanical system. No batteries, nothing to charge, nothing to go wrong. It works with the pen needles you already get on prescription, including BD Micro‑Fine, NovoFine, mylife and GlucoRx.
See every step with photos and a short video on our How it works page.
Can it help me stay independent?
For some people, a system like NeedleBay can reduce, or remove, the need for daily nurse visits to give insulin.
Where can I get one?
Or read our guide to insulin pen needle storage, keeping new and used needles safe.
