The Power of the Pump; a Life Changing Advancement in Diabetic Technology

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“Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes”. That is roughly eight percent of the population. However, there is a statistic that is even scarier. Of the 26 million people in the U.S. who suffer from diabetes, only about 19 million people have diagnosed diabetes (“Fast Facts”). This means that there are about 7 million people living in the U.S. who are diabetic, but do not know it. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done for those who have not been diagnosed yet. The same is certainly not true for those who have been diagnosed. The invention of the insulin pump has improved the lives of diabetics exponentially.
Diabetes mellitus is “a chronic disease that causes serious health complications including kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, and blindness” (Fuhrman 18). Those diagnosed with diabetes can be prone to hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, or both. Hyperglycemia is another term for high blood glucose. This happens because the body either has too little insulin or cannot use insulin properly to regular the blood glucose. There are a few symptoms that accompany hyperglycemia such as going to the bathroom frequently, being extremely thirsty, and having high levels of sugar in the urine. If hyperglycemia goes untreated, one can go into ketoacidosis. This condition is very life-threatening. If not treated immediately, one can slip into a diabetic coma and possibly die. Luckily, there are a few ways to identify whether one has ketoacidosis. Shortness of breath, nausea, and dry mouth are all symptoms of this condition (“Hyperglycemia”). Hypoglycemia is low blood glucose caused by too much insulin in the body. It is hard to list exact symptoms of hypoglycemia because every person experiences diff...

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