Parents Should Monitor Teens Use of Insulin Pumps

Dan Frith

Contributor

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Insulin pumps are used by thousands and thousand of American teenagers with Type I diabetes.  Type I diabetes occurs when the body's own immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.  For people who are not diabetic, the body's immune system fights off foreign invaders like viruses or bacteria. But for unknown reasons, in people with Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks various cells in the body. This results in a complete deficiency of the insulin hormone.  Insulin regulates blood sugar levels, which , when too high can lead to heart disease, blindness, and kidney damage.

Insulin pumps are popular because they can free the user from a strict regimen of meals, sleep, and exercise, because the pump can programmed to match a teenager's changing schedule. They no longer need to give themselves shots every day. Instead, they will program the pump what to do at every meal and sometimes in between.  But there are dangers....

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is studying the use of insulin pumps and found 13 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries connected with the use of the pump over the last 10 years.  These are alarming numbers and you should read the report which has been published by the journal, Pediatrics.  These dangers often arise from a young user's lack of knowledge about the pump and how to use it safely. 

Parents...keep an eye out for your teenager if he/she is using a pump...it just might save their life.