"The insuflon™ device works extremely well for our 5 year old son who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in March 2004. He is still in the "honeymoon" period and only requires about 5 units of insulin per day. All of his injections are given through the insuflon™ and he never complains of pain during the injections. We are able to mix different kinds of insulin together in the insuflon™ with no apparent problem. He currently takes Lantus, NPH and humalog.

Technically speaking, the insuflon™ is an indwelling subcutaneous catheter. We were introduced to this idea by Dr. Peter Chase and his team during our first visit to the Barbara Davis Center. The insuflon™ has a very low profile and my son usually does not even remember which side of his buttocks to expose when we ask him to take an injection. He can shower, bathe and even swim with it in. Occasionally, the sticky tape has frayed at the edges and we have reinforced it with Tegaderm with good success. We usually change the insuflon™ once a week and apply EMLA topical anesthetic cream for one hour, under a band-aid, before insertion. Most of the time, he does not feel the catheter going in at all.

While not for everyone, the insuflon™ has been wonderful for our son. If he wants to eat a little extra snack we can simply "cover it" with short acting insulin to keep him in tight control. My son's other caregivers (babysitters and grandparents) are especially thankful since they no longer feel intimidated when faced with giving him an injection. Also, the insuflon™ may be a low cost alternative for those people who cannot afford to start the pump. The insuflonTM has helped to make our preschooler's life as close to normal as possible."