Jul 3, 2019

Learn How Diabetic Supplies Have Changed

By Thomas Reed


There have been many changes with diabetes technologies over the last four decades. Management has had some noteworthy changes in insulin administration, measuring glucose, and types of insulin. Changes with diabetic supplies have improved the lives of numerous people significantly. For example, in the 1970s people monitored their glucose by urine using tablets that changed the color, and monitoring tapes. The dipstick was just newly 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.

Because of the nature of the disease, it necessitates attention several times during the day. The patient must calculate meals and snacks, administer insulin, and check glucose. In addition, the need to pay close attention to how they feel to identify hypoglycemia. This condition requires a higher level of attention than most. Unfortunately, over the years, this fact has not changed.

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.

Nutritional therapy has been affected by the changes as well. Today, the patient will be counseled on what types of food they should or should not be eating. The new concern is if insulin should match the foods consumed or if the food should match the insulin dosage. For decades, folks were given a diet to follow, a food exchange list, lists of carbohydrate values, and met regularly with a dietitian. The insulin dose was determined by the foods included in the diet.

With Diabetes Type I, the patient measures glucose and based on the level, adjusts the insulin dose. This takes place before the meal. Today, insulin dosage is matched to the food that is eaten. However, this does not give permission for people to consume anything they want. Contrary to traditional dosing, this method gives insulin following a meal.

With this method, the patient must evaluate the content of the meal, type of food, and amount. Once the analysis is complete, the individual makes a judgment and determines the amount of the insulin the will need after they eat. This is a more complicated method that many patients may not have the capability to perform. This method involves the calculation of the correct insulin dosage.

Historically, patients have taken insulin before a meal. Now, folks often choose the foods for each meal, then add up the foods they ate and account for their glucose level prior to eating, and finally, calculate the dose of insulin that is needed. Matching the insulin dose to foods consumed is a big shift in managing diabetes.




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