Find best Manufacturer of IV infusion set

There's a bit of confusion going on when it comes to terminology when it comes to diabetes management and insulin pumps; insulin pumps are fairly new on the market, and are a treatment option primarily for Type I diabetes, where the body doesn't produce insulin.

The basic function of an insulin pump is to put a carefully timed and regulated dose of insulin in your body. It still doesn't free the user from having to monitor their own glucose levels, and they still have to prepare their own IV infusion set.

What they do allow you to do is avoid IV infusion sets or direct injection of insulin into your body; you can press a button on the insulin pump itself; on more advanced models, you can enter your glucose level, and the system will just put in a dose of insulin for you.

The confusion in terminology is that the tubing that runs from the insulin pump to the patient's body is called an infusion set - it's a small plastic tube that goes to a cannula and links into the part of the system that's injected into the body; the benefit of this arrangement is that it's less invasive than carrying a syringe around all the time.

The infusion set needs to be replaced periodically (as does the cannula) to maintain sterility and functionality, and buying replacement infusion sets can involve some confusion - some, but not all, medical suppliers think of traditional hospital style IV drip bags when the term infusion set comes up.

When in doubt, look at the manufacturer's web site for the maker of the insulin pump you use. The manufacturer very likely sells all the replacement parts needed for their make and model, from the electronics to the canula tips to the tubing needed, as well as the standard dose of human genetically engineered insulin.

As with most chronic conditions, it's important to keep a healthy perspective on what makes you go when it comes to your diabetes. It's always worth it to have an emergency kit -with spare batteries for the pump, an extra cartridge of doses, glucose pin prick strips and an extra infusion set, just in case you do something that torques or kinks the set in your body, or otherwise do something to damage the infusion set. While it's a bit frustrating to carry a small case of medical supplies, it definitely beats carrying around a set of syringes or a hypodermic insulin pen.