Learn Your Way to A Healthier Life

For those with compromised immune systems, respiratory issues or heart conditions, the flu and COVID-19 can pose serious health threats. Learn about how antigen tests for the flu and COVID-19 protect you and your loved ones as you travel through large airports and on crowded buses.

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses, with types A and B being the most common. Influenza A and B may seem similar, but understanding the differences between them can help you protect your children. Learn about Flu A and Flu B and provide the right care based on testing.

Halloween is a magical time for kids, full of costumes, trick-or-treating and, of course, candy. However, for people managing diabetes or those keeping an eye on their blood glucose levels, the season can be especially difficult. Learn how glucometers can protect anyone with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) during Halloween without compromising your blood sugar levels!

Flu and COVID-19 share many similar symptoms, such as fever, cough, fatigue and muscle aches, making it difficult to determine which virus might be affecting your child. Both can spread easily through close contact and Halloween gatherings or trick-or-treating may increase the risk of exposure. Learn about multi-detection antigen tests and how you can protect your children from the flu and COVID-19 as Halloween approaches.

In this post, we will cover what SpO2 is, how it is measured and factors that affect its measurement.  Overview: What is SpO2? Measuring SpO2 Factors that Affect SpO2 Measurements Measuring SpO2 and COVID-19   What is SpO2? There needs to be a particular amount of oxygen present in the blood at all times, or the body cannot function properly. SpO2, or oxygen saturation, is a measure of the amount of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in the blood compared to the amount...

When used correctly, blood glucose meters are usually accurate. As the meter and strips get older, they may be less correct. Consider these other factors that affect meter accuracy and how to resolve them.

When you eat a carbohydrate (these are starchy foods, whole grains, fruit, milk, yogurt, or food or drinks with added sugar), your blood sugars rise at different rates, and fall at different rates. How do different carbohydrates, and how do they affect my body? Let me show you! The best way to distinguish between these different reaction speeds of carbohydrates is to lump them into three main subcategories: the sweet or simple ones, refined or starchy ones low in fiber,...

The brain relies only on sugar to function, so it begins suffering when blood sugar (blood glucose) levels are low, usually less than 70 mg/dl. Hypoglycemia generally occurs when there is an excess of glucose lowering medications, after a long or intense exercise session or inadequate carbohydrate intake. However, it is important to talk to your health care provider about your individual blood glucose targets, and what level is too low for you. Hypoglycemic symptoms are important clues that you...

It happens all the time: We go a little too long without eating, or skip a meal because we are occupied, or go to sleep without dinner or an evening snack. The blood sugar when we skip a meal begins to drop. Some of us feel when our blood sugar becomes low, but many people have no symptoms of low glucose at all. If you don't know to correct a low blood sugar, sometimes your body will try to correct...

Since glucometer lancets are so fine, they are also delicate. Each time they puncture the skin, they cause microscopic burrs and dents in the needle. Learn what happens when a lancet is reused.