| November is American
Diabetes Month. This month we will spotlight
another very important topic for diabetics: emergency
preparedness. Last month some of us personally
experienced Hurricane Wilma. Fortunately, after
some previous close calls with hurricanes, we developed
a personal checklist of things to do before the
storm arrived. We itemized the important things
we would need, regardless of whether we stayed home
or evacuated. That list served us well, and we survived
the storm with no real problems. Preparedness
is the key. If you take the time to prepare for
an emergency -- anything from a natural disaster
to unexpected delays on a vacation trip -- you
greatly improve your chances of dealing with problems
before they occur. This includes the storage of
insulin and food, protecting devices such as your
blood glucose meter, and dealing with a possible
loss of power. In this issue of The Access
Digest we will also talk about your personal
emergency kit and what to do in the event you
must be evacuated from your home for any reason.
As always, when you see
"Read More"
at the end of an article, or something that is
underlined, you can click on it to be linked
to another Web site where you'll find more information.
When you find a site that you may want to visit
again in the future, bookmark it.
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In
This Issue |
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Fortunately, several organizations
have published information that can help us prepare
for a variety of emergency situations. The American
Diabetic Association (ADA) offers us some important
suggestions on how to deal with hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia,
dehydration, preventing infections, and having our
medications on hand.
We also must carefully plan our meals during
a period of power outage, which can last from a
few days to several weeks. While away from home,
we have to consider long periods of travel, or even
extended stays in a shelter facility. Since we know
that our diet is a critical aspect of treating diabetes,
this month's "recipe" is a little different, something
you may have heard about during the TV hurricane
coverage -- "Meals Ready to Eat", or MREs.
These simple meals could prove very important during
an emergency.
Each month we receive questions from our
readers. We post some of the more frequent questions
and answers for everyone to read. If you have questions
or comments of your own, please email them to us
at the end of this issue.
We hope
you enjoy this issue of our newsletter. Thank you
for choosing Access Diabetic Supply as
your choice for diabetic supplies. |
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Be Prepared |
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It’s smart
to be prepared for an emergency. No matter where
you live, something can happen to disrupt your daily
routine, whether it's the unexpected, like a hurricane,
earthquake, flood, tornado, blizzard, or terror
attack, or even something completely planned, such
as an out of town trip.
Store a minimum of three days worth of diabetes
supplies in an emergency kit, which could include
oral medication, insulin, insulin delivery supplies,
lancets, extra batteries for your meter and/or pump,
and a quick-acting source of glucose. An extra
glucagon emergency kit may be a good idea. These
items should be kept in an easy-to-identify, sealed
container, and stored where you can get to it easily
in an emergency.
Your emergency kit
should also contain a list of emergency contacts
and physician's orders for you and your children.
Bring medical identification that will enable medical
personnel to address your medical needs.
If
you are a parent of a child with diabetes, it is
important that your child's school has clearly identified
the school staff members who will assist your child
in the event of an emergency evacuation. While
away from home, let your friends and family know
where your emergency supply kit is kept.
Read more
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Traveling Smart |
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Travel can be
stressful to those of us with diabetes. Sometimes
stress causes the body to react as though it were
under attack, releasing stored energy, i.e., fat
and glucose from its cells. This can make blood
glucose control even harder.
Expect delays;
these days they are normal. Plan on bringing enough
food, water, and insulin for a "worst case scenario."
If you are traveling
by air, make sure you are aware of the security
measures that will be taken so you will know what
to expect, how to pack, and what documentation
you will need in order to carry your medications,
insulin, syringes, etc. aboard. These are usually
listed on an airline’s Internet site.
When
traveling by car, understand that "Murphy's Law"
applies. Think about the condition of your car,
making sure the brakes, tires, heater, battery,
and windshield wipers are all in working order before
you leave. Plan to stop every two hours to stretch
your legs. Take good physical care of yourself before
you leave and while on the trip. Continue exercising,
eating properly, and relaxing when you're tired.
Read more
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Healthy Living:
Monthly Recipe & Lifestyle Changes |
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Lifestyle Change:
Traveling with Insulin
As always, plan ahead to bring
enough insulin, cooled to a temperature between
35 to 46 degrees F if possible. However, most insulin
products may be left unrefrigerated (between 59
and 86 degrees F) for up to 28 days and still maintain
potency. Under emergency conditions, you might still
need to use insulin that has been stored above 86
degrees F. Such extreme temperatures may cause insulin
to lose potency, which could result in loss of blood
glucose control over time.
If your prescribed type of insulin becomes unavailable,
switching insulin should be done in consultation
with a physician. If this is not possible under
emergency conditions, one brand of regular insulin
(e.g. Humulin R, Novolin R) may be substituted for
another brand of regular insulin and for rapid-acting
insulins (e.g., Humalog, NovoLog), and vice versa,
on a unit-per-unit basis. Guidelines are provided
for other situations. Read More |
| November
Recipe: Ready-to-Eat Foods |
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This month
our featured "recipe" is not a recipe at all --
it is a variety of ready-to-eat foods, or as we
heard described during the recent storm coverage
on TV, "Meals Ready to Eat", or MREs. These
include freeze-dried and dehydrated (just add
water) packaged foods as well as the more recent
products that heat themselves.
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Meals
Ready-to-Eat (MREs) are self-contained
meals in lightweight pouches, a modern-day
version of the c-rations used by the
military for years. Further improved
by NASA for the manned space program,
today they are used in a variety of
emergency situations to provide hot,
delicious meals. They are also
popular with backpackers, campers,
hunters, and boaters.
MREs contain two pouches, one
for the food itself and the other
to heat the food. When water is poured
into the heater pouch, a simple chemical
reaction takes place between the water
and iron oxide, producing enough heat
to warm the food pouch without any
flame or fire. Heater pouches
are sometimes sold separately from
food pouches.
Some stores sell various MRE
foods separately, in addition to full
MRE meals, so you can mix-and-match
to taste. Select your
MREs just as you would any other food,
by checking the nutritional information
on the label, including calories and
carbohydrates.
MREs have a long shelf life,
so you can store them in your emergency
kit for long periods of time. Products
typically have a five year guarantee,
and one U.S. Army study rated the
shelf life of MREs at 76 months at
80 degrees, and 130 months at 60 degrees.
Read
more about shelf life.
Some sources of MREs on the
Web:
Preparation time: single serving,
typically around 10 - 15 minutes.
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Nutritional
information varies by meal, and is provided on the
individual packets as well as on the Web sites where
they can be ordered.
Here is an example
of a nutrition label on an MRE packet containing
a Pasta and Vegetables in Tomato Sauce dinner. |
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Nutritional
Information - Meals Ready-to-Eat |
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Amount per Serving (serving
size 1 pouch - 227g 8oz)
Servings per container - 1 |
Calories
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180 |
| Calories
from Fat |
25 |
| Daily
Value* % |
| Total
Fat |
3g
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5% |
| Saturated
Fat |
1g |
4% |
| Cholesterol |
0
mg |
10% |
| Sodium
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1070
mg |
45% |
| Total
Carbohydrates
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35g |
12% |
| Dietary
Fiber |
4g
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16% |
| Sugars
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11g |
| Protein |
6g |
| Vitamin
A |
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0% |
| Vitamin
C |
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0% |
| Calcium |
|
4% |
| Iron |
|
6% |
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*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie
diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending
upon your calorie needs.
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Questions
& Answers - Ask the Experts |
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Each
month our staff answers questions and asks for
your feedback. However, if you have urgent questions
about your order or your meter, we encourage you
to call our customer care department at 1-800-276-5712.
We do our best to answer all questions, but we
also encourage you to consult your physician.
Below are a few of the typical questions
our customer care department has answered on this
month's theme. Each question is linked to a Web
site that gives an answer and provides more detail.
We hope you find this section helpful.
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Access Diabetic Supply |
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