Los diabetics They should avoid using wearable devices, such as rings or smart watches, that claim to measure blood glucose levels without using methods that pierce the skin.
These do not provide accurate results and may pose a health risk, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The glucose level, or the amount of sugar circulating in the blood, is a value commonly used by people with diabetes to monitor whether their blood sugar levels are within healthy limits.
In the event that these values shoot up or fall below the established limits, users must take measures to restore them in order to avoid aggravating their illness.
In this sense, some devices offer the ability to measure blood glucose among their functions.
However, the FDA, the body in charge of monitoring the medical device market in the United States, warned users to avoid its use.
The FDA explained in a statement that for people with diabetes, inaccurate blood glucose measurements can cause serious errors such as.
Among these, the application of the incorrect dose of insulin or other medications that rapidly reproduce glucose stands out.
These errors can cause glucose levels to be dangerously low. Therefore, they can trigger anything from mental confusion to a coma or even death, “a few hours after the error.”
Thus, according to this organization, it is necessary to directly analyze the blood of the user in question.
Likewise, he clarified that, instead, they can be paired with other applications that are used to display data collected by blood glucose measurement devices. These have been authorized by the FDA.
These devices do use methods that pierce the skin.
Therefore, the FDA said that, at this time, it has not cleared or approved any smart watch or ring intended to measure or estimate glucose values “on its own.”
He also advised consumers, patients, caregivers and healthcare providers to avoid using these types of devices, regardless of manufacturer or brand.
It also noted that if the user’s medical condition depends on accurate blood glucose measurements, the appropriate healthcare provider should be contacted to recommend a device “appropriate to their needs” and cleared by the FDA.
For their part, healthcare providers should also inform their patients about the risks of using smart watches and rings.
Smart watch research
Monitoring blood glucose levels without using invasive methods is a technology that is still being researched.
In fact, Apple and Google are exploring the development of technology that allows non-invasive glucose monitoring.
This technology would mean a great improvement for users with diseases such as diabetes.
This would mean no longer needing to pierce the skin every time they measure their glucose.
However, at the moment, there is no other alternative.
