jeudi 27 juin 2019

Learn How Diabetic Supplies Have Changed

By Thomas Reed


Over the past several decades, many changes in technology have affected diabetes management. There has been a significant change in the kinds of insulin being used, how it is administered, and how folks measure glucose. These changes in diabetic supplies have made a huge improvement in the lives of folks with diabetes. Back in 1977, folks measured glucose by testing urine with tablets and monitoring tapes. At that time dipsticks were just being introduced.

Although healthcare professionals thought that they practiced up-to-the-minute diabetes managing, the expertise was nonexistent. There were no major differences in managing diabetes between 1947 and 1977. Managing the disease involved monitoring glucose through urine and 1 or 2 doses of insulin. Today there are glucose monitors folks use at home or on the go, a number of options for insulin injection, and various types of insulin.

Checking glucose levels, calculating snacks and meals, and administering insulin, makes this disease require the individuals attention numerous times each day. Diabetics need to pay attention to identify feelings that may point to hypoglycemia. There are not many conditions that require such a high level of attention. This is something that has not changed for diabetes management.

Healthcare professionals who do not have diabetes can not understand the intense burden their patients face. Even though there have been some great improvements that have simplified glucose monitoring and insulin injections, the burden of managing diabetes has not been erased. Advancements in technology have not changed the fact that it is important for the patient to continue to be careful when managing diabetes.

There have also been significant changes in nutrition. There is much dialog about the kind of food that the individual should eat. The topic seems to be about matching insulin to the food or matching the food to the insulin. Folks were given a specific diet to follow for years. They saw a dietitian and were handed lists for food exchanges and carbohydrate values. Their insulin was a set dose and they were prescribed a diet.

In the case of type 1 diabetes, folks have to measure glucose and adjust the insulin based of the glucose level. This method is done prior to a meal. Today, there is insulin that matches the foods that are eaten. This does not mean, however, that folks can eat whatever they want. In this type of situation, the insulin is given after a meal.

Administering insulin after eating requires that folks evaluate the meal content, the type of food, and the amount. After assessing the meal, the person will decide the dosage of insulin needed following the meal. Not every person has the ability to perform food analysis. Additionally, not many have the skill to determine the insulin dosage.

In past decades, folks would take their insulin and then eat their meal. Today they choose their foods and after the meal they add up the foods eaten, accounting for glucose level before the meal, and calculate the insulin dosage needed. Matching insulin to food consumed is a shift in diabetes management.




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