The Diabetic Pump – For a Healthier Lifestyle

Diabetic Pump

It can be very uncomfortable to live with diabetes. The repetitive tasks of monitoring blood sugar and measuring and injecting insulin can make each day difficult. Some diabetic patients will inject themselves with insulin more than four times in a single day. Many diabetic patients have a painful awareness of the consequences of failing to monitor their blood sugar, and they can feel very limited in their daily lives.

Today, many diabetic patients have discovered the advantages of a diabetic pumps, or an insulin pump. A diabetic pump is quite small, nearly the size of an average MP3 player, and it can easily be worn without other people noticing it. The diabetic pump has a battery and a small reservoir of insulin, and it has computerized controls that allow the patient to adjust the pump’s rate of insulin release. It pumps insulin through a tube that the patient inserts under their skin. This same insulin intake site can be used for up to three days, replacing about twelve needle pricks for the average diabetic.

Diabetic pumps are designed to be worn all day and all night, consistently pumping fast doses of insulin, so it imitates a healthy human pancreas very well. Every human body uses insulin. In non-diabetic individuals, insulin is supplied by the pancreas. The insulin pump allows the diabetic patient to have insulin constantly available, and then have increased amounts of insulin around mealtimes, just like a healthy pancreas would have done. With an insulin pump, the diabetic patient can have an unexpectedly large meal, and then increase their insulin dose accordingly, with just a few button clicks. No alcohol swab. No squinting to measure out of a tiny bottle. No uncomfortable needle prick.

This sense of control over accurate insulin dosage can help patients feel more control over living the sort of active lives that their doctors often recommend. Pumps can be worn during many forms of exercise, including swimming and bicycling. An insulin pump also allows far greater freedom to travel with family and friends, since there will no longer be a need for refrigerated insulin bottles or for needles, and if you happen to eat out, you can discreetly adjust your insulin level right at the dinner table.

Insulin pumps continue to increase in popularity, and designs are continuing to improve. As time goes on, it seems that the insulin pump is becoming more and more like a living pancreas. Many models available now include an implanted glucose sensor. The pump will either alarm or vibrate when there is too much blood sugar or when there is too little. There is not a pump on the market that will automatically pump insulin when a sensor triggers it, but such a pump seems likely to be developed soon.

For a diabetic patient, it can be very tedious to follow a doctor’s orders. A diabetic pump can be just the thing to make managing diabetes more interesting.

Reference:

Jamie Vanderhorst has been covering Diabetes for the last 10 years, working as a professional writer. One of Jamie’s areas of knowledge is on diabetic pumps. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Vanderhorst