Summer Means Fun in The Sun...Keeping It Safe
Summer will soon be here and that means warmer weather and fun in the sun. Here are a few tips to share with your insulin therapy patients to help them stay safe regardless of the temperature.
Warm Weather Tips For Diabetes Management:
Plan activity:
Consider exercising in air conditioning or in the early or late part of the day to avoid the intense heat.
Monitor blood glucose:
Plan to check blood glucose more often, every hour or two, or use a continuous glucose monitor, particularly if the warm weather leads to increased outdoor physical activity.
Keep hydrated:
During hot weather, your body can lose lots of extra fluids through perspiration. Be sure you drink at least 8 ounces of water and other, sugar-free, caffeine-free fluids often during the day.
Protect yourself from the direct sun:
Always wear sunscreen. Remember to reapply it if you have been in the water or have perspired a lot.
Care for your feet:
Wear shoes or sandals when walking on hot surfaces including sand to avoid injuries.
Be mindful of heat exhaustion:
If you feel overheated or dizzy, get out of the direct heat. Lie down and use cool, wet cloths to lower your body temperature. Call for help and check your blood glucose.
Wear identification:
No matter the season, always wear or carry identification that says you have diabetes. Carry a cell phone with you and let someone know where you’re going in case you need help.
Diabetes supplies:
Keep insulin at near-normal temperatures. Place your vial, pen or prefilled syringe in an insulated case. Use a cooler or cold pack but avoid placing insulin directly on the ice as it could freeze and lose its effectiveness.* Pack a backpack with insulin, pills, a blood glucose meter, test strips, and low blood glucose supplies so you can carry everything with you. Never leave supplies in the car (including the trunk) and make sure to keep them out of direct sunlight.
Did you know?
InPen™ the first FDA-Cleared Smart† Insulin Pen, has temperature alerts to notify the user if the device has been exposed to damaging hot or cold temperatures. This TEMPERATURE icon will appear when the InPen™ detects a very high or very low temperature. Based on the temperature of the InPen™, users may want to consider replacing their insulin cartridge. The icon will clear when a new cartridge is installed.
Pump Vacations
Summer is vacation season for many. Sometimes vacation season gets pump therapy patients thinking about another kind of vacation: a pump vacation. A pump vacation is when a patient chooses to take a break from wearing an insulin pump for short periods of time (often, as it turns out, to coincide with a beach vacation). Sometimes it may be done because insulin absorption is no longer working well due to overused skin tissue. Or it might be a choice in order to prevent damage to an insulin pump (think white water rafting as an example). Whatever the reason, an option to help your patients safely transition to insulin injections ahead of their pump vacation is a smart insulin pen. To learn more about the benefits of smart insulin pens, make sure to view this month’s Product Portfolio spotlight on InPen™, the first FDA-cleared smart insulin pen.
Wishing you and your patients a fun and safe summer vacation!
*
MiniMed™ pumps are designed to withstand temperatures between 41 - 104°. Insulin can freeze near 32° and become less effective at higher temperatures.
†
Smart insulin pens connect to a mobile app to provide dosing calculations, reminders and CGM system integration.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR INPEN™ SMART INSULIN PEN:
The InPen™ requires a prescription. It is a home-use reusable pen injector for single-patient use by people with diabetes under the supervision of an adult caregiver, or by a patient age 7 and older for the self-injection of a desired dose of insulin. The pen injector is compatible with Lilly Humalog® U-100 3.0 mL cartridges, Novo Nordisk Novolog® U-100 3.0 mL cartridg- es, and Novo Nordisk Fiasp® U-100 3.0 mL cartridges and single-use detachable and disposable pen needles (not included). The pen injector allows the user to dial the desired dose from 0.5 to 30 units in one-half (1/2) unit increments.
The InPen™ dose calculator, a component of the InPen™ app, is indicated for the management of diabetes by people with diabetes under the supervision of an adult caregiver, or by a patient age 7 and older for calculating an insulin dose or carbohydrate intake based on user entered data.
For an insulin dose based on amount of carbohydrates, a healthcare professional must provide patient-specific target blood glucose, insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio, insulin sensitivity parameters, and duration of insulin action to be programmed into the software prior to use as it is required for set up.
For an insulin dose based on fixed/variable meal sizes, a healthcare professional must provide patient-specific fixed doses/meal sizes to be programmed into the software prior to use.
For additional product and important safety considerations, see User Guide and http://bit.ly/InPenSafety.