Diabetes and Glucose MonitoringChapter 3DescriptionDiabetes mellitus, otherwise known simply as diabetes, is a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot produce or use the hormone "insulin". The most common symptoms of this disorder are extreme thirst and the production of excessive amounts of urine. However, the symptom that doctors use as the definitive criterion is glucose concentration. A diabetic person's glucose concentration is usually higher than normal. To monitor blood glucose concentrations, these people use glucometers. Glucometers are portable devices that measure glucose concentrations. They have a paper strip that contains chemicals that react easily with glucose (brown 90). The person pricks their finger and puts blood on the paper, allowing the blood to react with the chemicals and measure the glucose concentration. They must do this every day according to timely and personalized plans to effectively monitor their blood sugar. If anything is different, they need to change something in their lifestyle – usually in their diet – to lower their glucose levels. This home testing method is called self-monitoring of blood glucose, or SMBG (Whitmore 583). There are two types of diabetes called Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is insulin dependent while type 2 diabetes is. not insulin-dependent (Ben-Jacob). Type 1 is also sometimes caused by viruses, but the exact cause is unknown to scientists. Type 1 depends more on a person's diet, inactivity of the physical body, and family heritage. According to Gwen Hall in her journal article, An Introduction to Diabetes, type 1 diabetes has a rapid onset and is introduced at an age younger than 30 years. The paper elves' means of obtaining that disease. Disadvantages The disadvantages of diabetes are often decreased health and quality of life, as well as amputation of a limb due to diabetic nerve damage. The drawbacks of blood glucose meters, however, are less common. A test strip may not be inserted completely into the meter, which could cause incorrect tests. The meter's batteries may run out, leaving the person needing to test themselves scrambling to reveal their condition. If a patient is dehydrated, there may be false test results. There is also the possibility that there is not enough blood on the strip to determine glucose, so the patient will have to prick their finger again on a different strip (FDA). This could become very uncomfortable for a diabetic person and could lead to them becoming so tired that they give up on properly treating their condition..