Helping People With Diabetes Solve The Blood Sugar Code (NAPSA)—Watchingor reading mysteries can be a fun way to stimulate your mind but there should be no mystery when it comes to blood sugar levels for people with diabetes. Monitoring blood sugar levels with a blood glucose meter lets people with diabetes learn more about how their blood sugar is affected by the things they do, what they eat and the medicine they take. When the meter readings are not accurate, however, this can lead to other problems. Fortunately, technology can take the mystery out of coding a blood glucose meter, making it easier to have accurate blood sugar readings. One recent study estimated that 16 percent of people with diabetes—or roughly one out of six— do not match the code on their blood glucose (BG) meter properly to the lot of test strips they are currently using. Coding is done either by inserting a codestrip or code chip into the meter or by entering a code numberinto the meter. Research has shown that errors in coding with some meters can lead to results that are up to 43 percent inaccurate. In addition, experts warn that people using incorrectly coded meters may be giving themselves an incorrect dose of insulin well over half of the time. Such errors can cause blood sugar levels to be too low (hypoglycemia) or too high (hyperglycemia) and maylead to serious complications over the long run if left unchecked. The good newsis that thanks to technology, this kind of error is easier to avoid. Bayer’s Breeze and Contour CONTOUR M038 12:08 PM Take the mystery out of using a blood glucose meter. A significant number of people with diabetes may be giving themselves incor- rect doses of insulin due to miscoding their blood glucose meter. Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems do not require coding. This developmentis in line with recent recommendations issued by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), as well as other health care providers. They suggested reducing the complexity of blood glucose monitoring. “Diabetes is a complicated condition that is difficult to manage,” explains Dr. Joan Lee Parkes. “Not everyone has access to proper training and even those who do have so many different things they need to attend to, including proper meals, meal timing, planning, exercise and blood testing—forgetting to code or recode the meter is a mistake that’s easy to make.” Improving life for those with diabetes through innovation is not something new for Bayer; it introduced thefirst portable blood glucose meter and strips in 1969. To learn more, visit the Web site at www.bayerdiabetes.com.
