I like to find out new ideas or medications to help treat diabetes, so I am always looking for new articles. I found one today and decided to share these upgrades. We can always take advantage of new developments.

The first is flexible insulin therapy. What this means is newer insulins to match the way a pancreas works so diabetics have more flexibility in what and when they eat. Low blood sugars will also be less common in the past. There are other benefits such as lower A1C levels and fewer complications. However, the diabetic will have to do at least 4 tests a day and have a bigger commitment to adjusting insulin doses.

There are now 6 classes of oral medications for type 2 diabetics. Januvia helps regulate blood sugars by stimulating production of insulin in response to a meal and reduces the release of glucose by the liver. There is also a combination pill. Many diabetics have to take a variety of pills to do the job of controlling blood sugars.

HumaPen is the first digital pen insulin dispenser. This pen has memory, tracking time and dosage data  for insulin injections. Lantus SoloStar is prefilled and disposable for once daily 24 hour insulin injections. These are more costly than vials and syringes. Infusers are inserted near the abdomen. A small opening in the skin is created for injecting the insulin. This is taped and covered and remains in place for 72 hours. Infusers are not recommended to be used with combination insulins.

Hopefully in the near future there will be a cure, a miracle drug, or at least an easier way to deal with diabetes.

Did you know that every time you give blood you help save the lives of 4 to 5 people? Blood is used in trauma cases, surgeries, bone marrow transplants and severe burns. For each hospital approximately 350 units of blood are used every day. 50 percent of the population is eligible to donate blood, yet roughly 5 to 10 percent donate on a routine basis. If eligible donors gave 3 times a year the blood supply would never run short.

Being a donor can be a healthy thing. Periodically lowering the iron in the blood is a good thing, especially in men. Lowering the iron level also stimulates the bone marrow.

You can be a donor if you are over 17, weigh more than 110 lbs., haven’t donated blood in the past 8 weeks, and are in good general health. When you arrive at a donation center, your blood pressure will be checked, along with your temperature, pulse and iron levels. You may be turned away if any of these are not within the guidelines. You will also learn your blood type (A, B, AB, O, Rh).

If you have any questions about becoming a donor I suggest your call the local center or your family doctor for a location. It may become something you will do the rest of your life.

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Have you ever forgotten to stock your refrigerator with your favorite soda or beer? All you are left with is that room temperature beverage. Fortunately, it is possible to chill canned and bottled drinks quickly.

Steps

1. Take the temperature of the drink. This step is optional; once you open a can, this method won’t be as effective. If this is your first time trying it, though, it may be interesting to record how drastically the temperature can change.
2. Fill a bowl (the thicker and/or more insulated the better) with water and add ice to it. Add as much ice to the water as you can, but not so much that it prevents the entire beverage container from being submerged into the water. A 50/50 mix of ice and water is a good rule of thumb.
3. Add table salt to the ice. A small handful should do. Adding salt lowers the melting temperature of the ice.
4. Place your drinks in the ice water solution and rapidly stir them all around. By stirring, you’re using forced convection to speed the transfer of heat out of your drink and into the ice water solution.
5. Wait two minutes. Take the temperature of one of the drinks - the temperature should have fallen dramatically in a very short time. If it needs more time chilling, stir the remaining drinks in the salted ice water for another minute or two.
6. Enjoy your cold drink. It should now be about the perfect temperature to quench your thirst.

Tips

• This will work with just about any drink, in a conveniently sized can or bottle.
• This method is amazingly better than merely adding ice cubes to the glass of warm coke. Placing ice cubes directly into the drink causes it to become diluted and lose its fizz and snappy flavor.
• Smaller containers will chill more rapidly than large containers because the smaller ones have much more surface area in contact with the cold water per unit volume. Smaller containers will also chill more rapidly because they contain less liquid.
• If you don’t have salt, then plain water plus ice is still more effective than ice alone at chilling containers. This is because the liquid water is a better heat conductor than air (many times better), and the ice by itself can’t cover much of the container’s surface.
• If you want a cold drink immediately and happen to have an extra CO2 gas fire extinguisher laying around, there is another, faster way. By blasting your can of soda with the extinguisher for only a few seconds, your drink will be icy cold. This only works with CO2 extinguishers which leave no residue as others will leave you with nothing more than a drink covered in fire retardant powder, stale water, or a mess of foam. However, it is recommended that you save your extinguisher for a true emergency.
• An inverted electronics duster (canned air) will cost quite a bit less than the fire extinguisher, and work instantly as well, but caution is required because of the risk of freezing the beverage and the toxic fumes emitted.
• If you do not have extra clean water available, using ice alone and stirring it and the drinks around in the ice is still better than just putting the drinks in an ice chest with ice still in the bag with the drinks sitting on top or in a refrigerator. Air which is less dense than water can not absorb and conduct as much heat away from the containers compared to water.
  • So to have cooler air circulating among the pieces of ice, try putting the bowl in a bag and tie it closed, and then swirl the bowl a little every 15 to 30 seconds to stir the drinks.
• Make sure to at least rinse the can top in clean, potable water before you drink the beverage. The salt that may be left on the can lid may cause the beverage to taste very salty.

Warnings

• Carbonated cans may become pressurized after rapidly stirring in the ice water. Opening cans before the carbonation has a chance to settle may cause an overflowing mess.

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Chill a Drink Quickly. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.