Glucose monitoring has become a whole lot easier for diabetics, with the release of a new and free smartphone app that can can detect blood sugar levels.
The FreeStyle Libre System has recently become available in Australia, and is the first country outside of Europe to have access to the technology.
People can see their glucose data on the phones, which reduces the need for pricking the finger with a needle.
It also eliminates the need to carry a separate reader or handheld device that scans the sensor to get a glucose result.
July 8-14 marks National Diabetes Week.
Arncliffe personal trainer Jason Follone, 28, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two years ago.
“It started off with getting blurry eyes, but I brushed my symptoms off as the effects of training,” he said.
“Then I started to lose weight, was drinking lots of water and going to the toilet frequently.
“My blood sugar came back at 37 – a normal reading is between 4-8 so I was sent straight to emergency because my body was shutting down at that stage.”
A regular endurance athlete and ultra-marathon competitor, he uses the app to check his blood sugar levels.
“It’s been great – it’s one less thing I have to carry around,” he said.
“I basically tap the phone on a sensor that’s on my arm, and it gives me eight hours of levels.
“It’s pretty accurate, and means I don’t have to use a needle as often, but I will sometimes do it to double check.
“The app shows you the direction levels are travelling in, so you can predict things, which is especially useful when eating or exercising because you start to understand how your body reacts.
“You don’t realise how much your body does until it stops working.”
