Health & Wellness - December 2016

24 & December 2016 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net | Like us @healthykentucky
What You Need to Know
About Insulin Delivery
Numerous options available from
pens to inhalers
By Dr. Tom
Miller, Staff Writer
Diabetes is a chronic
disease that affects
the body’s ability to
use the energy we get
from the food we eat. Glucose fuels the
cells in the body. These cells need insulin,
a hormone made in the pancreas,
in order to take in the glucose and use
it for energy. Insulin allows the body to
use the glucose from the carbohydrates
in food for energy. The pancreas plays
an essential role in maintaining energy
levels by regulating this vital part of the
digestive system. It is also a critical controller
of blood sugar levels.
When the pancreas fails to produce
enough insulin, a pharmaceutical
insulin product is needed. This failure
results in high levels of blood glucose,
which may damage the blood vessels in
the eyes, heart, nervous system and kidneys
and can eventually lead to complications
such as neuropathy, blindness,
stroke and kidney disease.
To prevent these complications,
consider finding a suitable insulin delivery
system. Educational commercials
appear regularly on radio and television,
offering people who have diabetes
a number of insulin delivery systems.
The options include insulin pens,
syringes, pumps, jet injectors and inhalers.
Patients with diabetes and their
physicians should consider a number of
factors, including body metabolism and
what the patient’s health insurance will
cover, when choosing a delivery system.