as technological progress In diabetes care, with continuous blood sugar monitors, insulin pumps, and AI-powered alerts, a different kind of intelligence is proving just as powerful. It’s a dog’s nose.
Received special training all over the country diabetic alert dog SWNS news agency reported that medical devices are learning how to detect dangerous changes in blood sugar levels before they do.
Kona, a 1-year-old Labrador retriever from Ohio, lets her owner, 7-year-old Kennedy Barth, know when her blood sugar levels are rising or falling by gently placing her paw on his arm. In many cases, Kona can alert you 30 minutes before a problem occurs with your child’s blood sugar monitor.
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The same source said that after completing two months of scent detection training, Kona is now working around the clock, along with hundreds of other diabetic alert dogs.
People who live together are diabetic alert dog They say animals give them safety and security. For Kennedy Barth and his family, that means always having someone on hand who can spot danger before anyone notices anything is wrong.
“At just 7 years old, Kona is full of energy, even with a blood sugar level of 45. That’s why Kona is a lifesaver,” Kennedy’s mother Lindsey Barth told SWNS.
“He can sense changes before Kennedy feels anything, and often before we even know there’s something wrong with her technology.”
Low or high blood sugar levels cause chemical changes in a person’s body that humans cannot smell. Diabetic alert dogs are trained to recognize these odors and alert their owners through specific actions, such as touching or licking with their paws, according to the American Kennel Club.
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Dr. Frank Dumont, an internist and executive medical director at Verta Health Colorado, told Fox News Digital how that all ends up happening. body and technique Process the signal.
One of the main limitations of current diabetes medical devices, he noted, is the lag between what’s happening inside the body and the blood vessels.
Trained alert dogs have the intuitive ability to detect changes in blood sugar levels in real time, even when a person is sleeping, and often react to hormonal changes before sensors can detect them.
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This early detection is especially important for people who: blood sugar level It could drop suddenly or reach dangerously low levels, Dumont said.
“It’s the kind of thing that can lead to seizures, coma and even death,” he warned.
both Type 1 and type 2 diabetes It involves an increase in blood sugar levels, but for different reasons. Type 1 occurs when the body’s immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Type 2, on the other hand, occurs when the body is still producing insulin but no longer responds to it effectively.
“The treatment is completely different,” Dumont said. “Sometimes we have to rely on it drugs such as insulinBut we usually try to do other things to help people get proper nutrition. ”
Experts stress that while diabetic alert dogs can provide important early warning, they are not a substitute for medical equipment or continuous monitoring.
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Animals undergo extensive training and require consistent reinforcement to improve accuracy, but cannot accurately measure blood glucose levels.
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If you are interested in using a diabetic alert dog as part of your diabetes management, talk to doctor Determine the approach that best suits your individual needs.
