It pays to have an inventive mind and parental concern that pushed several caring parents to tinker with a glucose monitoring device and hooked it online, so they could keep track of their children when in school or away on a trip.
These kids, especially those with Type 1 diabetes, need to have their blood sugar levels monitored regularly since a sudden change in glucose levels could cause them to collapse or have seizures, which could prove fatal if left unattended.
Aptly called Nightscout, parents lauded this initiative as an innovative revolution in diabetes care, where parents are now able to keep tabs on their kids while apart from them at school, camping or out with friends.
Type 1 diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas that inhibit the production of insulin to help manage blood sugar in the body. Once ignored or neglected could lead to damage of the kidneys, heart and nerves. It could even lead to blindness or early death due to complications.
Nightscout is a cloud-based program where data is fed from software installed in a smartphone or smartwatch worn by children that is also wirelessly connected to a reconfigured blood glucose monitoring apparatus.
Parents could then have access to this data through the cloud database remotely via a cellphone, tablet, watches or computers.
“I used to worry all the time what her blood sugar was doing when she wasn’t with me or even when she is with me, when she’s watching TV or just falling asleep at the back of the car,” said Kate Farnsworth who installed the system for her 11 year old daughter with Type 1 diabetes.
Farnsworth was the first one in Canada to utilize this revolutionary system and said that it turned her life around and allowed her to stay confident and worry-free when her daughter was at school or anywhere apart from her.
All volunteers and parents donate their time and gives out the software for free to anybody who needs it. The only thing they are asking for is to also pay it forward by providing technical support or help to other parents who also have children with diabetes.
“We’re not in it for the money, Farnsworth said, adding that their only goal is to help improve the lives of people who are dealing with the stigma of diabetes.
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Source: Parent hackers spark do-it-yourself revolution in diabetes care for children – CTV News
The post Diabetes App For Blood Sugar Checks A Hit With Parents appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.
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