Ozempic injection technique: what TikTok gets right and wrong

What did @dr.imranshahzad7 actually say?

This video is a step-by-step Urdu-language tutorial on how to self-administer Ozempic (semaglutide) by injection. The creator walks viewers through removing the pen cap, attaching the needle, using a spirit swab to clean the injection site on the abdomen, removing the inner and outer needle caps, inserting the needle into belly skin, pressing the dose button, holding for five seconds, then cleaning the site again after removal.

The intended audience appears to be patients who have been prescribed Ozempic but have not been shown how to inject it. That is a real gap, and the video addresses it in a low-barrier, accessible way. The creator says to hold the button for five seconds so the dose "goes into the belly skin properly," which is broadly consistent with manufacturer guidance. The instruction to clean the site before and after with a spirit swab is also included.

No dosing instructions are given. No specific dose is recommended. The video is procedural, not prescriptive.

Does the science back this up?

The core steps described are largely consistent with Novo Nordisk's own administration instructions and with clinical guidelines. The five-second hold is real and important. Studies confirm that subcutaneous injection technique directly affects drug absorption, meaning skipping steps like the hold time can result in incomplete dose delivery.

A 2019 review by Molitch et al. in Diabetes Care noted that improper subcutaneous injection technique, including inadequate needle dwell time, is a documented cause of subtherapeutic drug levels in patients using injectable medications. The abdominal site preference mentioned in the video is consistent with standard practice, though thigh and upper arm are also validated sites per FDA labeling.

The use of an alcohol (spirit) swab is standard, though it is worth noting that some clinical guidelines, including those from the American Diabetes Association, note that alcohol swabbing is not strictly required if skin is visibly clean. The video does not mention this nuance, but recommending a swab is not wrong, just slightly more conservative than current evidence requires.

What did they get wrong (or right)?

Credit where it is due: the five-second hold instruction is correct and often skipped in informal tutorials. Cleaning before and after, attaching the needle by twisting, and removing both caps before injecting are all accurate steps.

What is missing is more of a concern than what is actively wrong. The video does not mention:

• Rotating injection sites to prevent lipohypertrophy, a documented complication of repeated same-site injections (Blanco et al., 2013, Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics).
• Refrigeration and temperature handling requirements for Ozempic pens. Novo Nordisk specifies that in-use pens should be stored below 30 degrees Celsius and not refrigerated once opened.
• What to do if you miss a dose, or if the dose window shows a partial delivery.
• That this medication requires a prescription and medical supervision. The tutorial format, absent that context, could encourage unsupervised use.

No false medical claims are made, but the gap between a correct tutorial and a safe one is meaningful for a 40,000-view video reaching patients who may have no other clinical contact.

What should you actually know?

If you have been prescribed Ozempic, this video covers the mechanical basics reasonably well. But a TikTok tutorial is not a substitute for the injection training your prescriber or pharmacist should provide. Several things the video skips are not minor details.

Lipohypertrophy, the buildup of fatty tissue from repeated injections in one spot, reduces drug absorption and is a real clinical problem. Rotating sites across the abdomen, or using the thigh or upper arm, is standard practice. Novo Nordisk's prescribing information explicitly covers this.

Temperature handling matters too. A pen left in a hot car or exposed to freezing temperatures may deliver degraded medication without any visible sign that something is wrong.

Finally, Ozempic is a prescription medication with a specific titration schedule and a list of contraindications, including personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma and multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, per FDA labeling. Anyone watching a tutorial like this should be doing so because they already have a prescription and a prescriber, not as a first step toward obtaining and using the drug independently.