Opportunity to Go Beyond Skin Deep on Diabetes Care

MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 20, 2014) -

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When it comes to diabetes care, it's important to go beyond skin deep according to the diabetes experts at BD Canada. In addition to monitoring diet, blood sugar levels and insulin doses, people living with diabetes, who inject insulin, also need to pay close attention to skin at injection sites.

In a recent study nearly one in four people who inject insulin daily developed hard to detect/hidden skin conditions* that can contribute to complications including improper insulin absorption and unexplained hypoglycemia.**

BD Canada, diabetes educators and leading health experts are getting hands on in looking for signs of improper injection technique. This week, the team unveils new interactive education tools at the 17^th Annual CDA Conference that include:

• "Lipo Larry" ― a life-sized, interactive touch and feel dummy that allows you to feel for changes in skin texture ― a negative impact of poor injection site inspection and rotation
  
  
• A cross-sectional animation of lipo formation that demonstrates how changes beneath the skin can occur as a result of poor injection technique
  
  

Research shows proper injection technique can improve blood sugar control***

"At BD, we've found giving people the opportunity to get hands on is the best way to learn about the importance of proper injection technique and its role in overall diabetes wellness," says Carole Ann Maloney, Diabetes Educator at BD, producer of the world's leading insulin injection needles.

"Our goal is to help Canadians who inject insulin to identify lipohypertrophy or "lipos" ― lumps beneath the skin that results from improper injection technique which can impede insulin absorption ― and offer simple tips to prevent and manage them. In fact, people with lipos are 39 per cent more likely to suffer from unexplained hypoglycemia compared to those without****," adds Maloney.

Go Beyond Skin Deep on Diabetes Care

More information about diabetes can be found at www.diabetes.ca and information about proper injection technique can be found at www.BDdiabetes.ca.

Learn about the latest innovations in diabetes care and get on the road to becoming healthier and happier by joining the Diabetes Innovations community on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/diabetesinnovations).

About BD Medical - Diabetes Care

BD is a leading global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. The company is dedicated to helping diabetes patients around the world live healthier lives through innovative products and educational services that bring improved efficacy, comfort and convenience to diabetes drug therapy.

*Berard, L RN, et al. Injection Technique: The Canadian Experience. WRHA Health Science Centre, Diabetes Research Group, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (2014)

**De Coninck C, et al. Results and analysis of the 2008-2009 Insulin Injection Technique Questionnaire Survey. J. Diabetes 2010; 2(3): 168-179

***Grassi G, et al, Optimizing Insulin Injection Technique and its Effect on Blood Glucose Control, Journal of Clinical & Translational Endocrinology (2014), doi: 10.1016/j.jcte.2014.07.006.

****Blanco M, et al. Diabetes Metabolism. 2013;39:445-453.

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