To deal with the challenges of keeping blood glucose levels under better control, many children with Type 1 diabetes rely on insulin pumps.
An insulin pump is a small device, about the size of a mobile phone, that can be easily carried on a belt, inside a pocket, or even attached to clothing or a small pouch worn around the waist.
The insulin pump can help you, your child and your healthcare team to more closely mimic the way a healthy pancreas delivers the basal insulin to the body by providing small amounts of rapid acting insulin during the day and night. It can help to better manage the need for insulin dose adjustment, particularly after meals and overnight and can thus help to achieve better glucose control.
Instead of frequent injections, all that is needed for pump therapy is a change of infusion set every 2 to 3 days.
Now, Guzmán does everything other kids do: swimming, basketball and his favorite sport, football. The simple truth is that the pump has improved nighttimes for all of us.
- ESTER, GUZMÁN’S MOTHER
How does the MiniMed® 640G insulin pump help control glucose levels?
The MiniMed® 640G insulin pump can deliver tiny, precisely measured doses of insulin as little as 0.025 unit every hour throughout the day. The exact amount is set to the specific requirements of the child’s normal body functions by the physician.
The pump also allows you to:
- Use the Bolus Wizard®: this built-in feature helps to ensure accurate dosing by taking into account the amount of insulin already in the body, the current glucose levels, carbohydrate intake and personal insulin settings to determine the right dose.
- Adjust the basal insulin in order to compensate for higher or lower levels of exercise or during illness.
- Cancel programmed deliveries of insulin if the child decides not to eat or take part in a previously-planned activity.
