Whether you’re on the keto diet, trying to lose weight, or just want to shed a few pounds and tone up your body, you probably know that exercise is essential for achieving your goal.
However, if you have diabetes, then it’s important to take some extra precautions before hitting the gym. This article will help guide you through the steps of safely managing your diabetic accessories in a gym setting so that you can stay healthy while working out!
Blood Sugar Monitor
A blood sugar monitor should be kept in a case or pouch. It’s best to keep it in a pocket with the test strips. If you don’t have a case or pouch, wrap it in a cloth and place it inside your bag. Keep your meter on at all times, like when you exercise or go to the bathroom, so in case anything happens, it will be close by and ready to go.
Insulin Pen
An insulin pen is a device used by people with diabetes to inject their medication into their body via injection or infusion (a tube inserted into a vein). The device consists of two parts: the catheter and the cartridge.
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The catheter is usually made out of plastic or glass and contains needles at the tip, which inject the medicine into the body. The cartridge contains the actual medicine itself – either liquid or powder form, which gets dissolved once injected into your bloodstream through the needle after pressing down on it when injecting yourself with it (and before releasing).
Insulin Syringes
You may be using insulin syringes to inject insulin at the gym. The best way to avoid any accidents is to keep your sharps container handy and use it every time you inject.
You should also make sure that you never share needles with anyone else, especially if they have diabetes too. Even if someone has a similar type of blood sugar problem, it doesn’t mean that they’ll have the same injection needs as you do! For example, some people may need more than one needle per shot, while others might only need one.
Experts like Tandem Diabetes say, “Choose from a variety of cannula materials, tubing lengths, and insertion angles.”
Lancing Device
When it comes to lancing devices, there are many things to consider. Most importantly, you should use a lancet device designed for finger sticks.
Your diabetes supplies should come with one or more lancets, but you may want to purchase additional ones if you go through them quickly or find that the ones provided are not strong enough. You’ll also want to make sure that the needle retracts after use so that you don’t accidentally prick yourself while changing out your supplies.
Lancets
One of the most important things you need to do when using a lancet device is to make sure that it’s easy for you to use. The last thing you want is to struggle with a complicated device while sweating it out at the gym!
Practice using the lancet device before going in for your first workout. You want to learn how much pressure is needed and how long it takes for your blood sample to appear on the test strip. It may take some practice, but eventually, these things will come naturally and will no longer cause any problems for you or your testing schedule.
