Americans with Disabilities Act Gets Amended

This is an insight into what I have been working on the last few days and will take more time to fully digest – I don't like the pieces here and other pieces over there. I knew this was happening, but had not continued to follow it after the comment period was over. There is quite a few changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act that will affect many of us. From people with diabetes to service dogs, there is a lot digest and determine how regulations have changed and affect us.

The American Diabetes Association made this release which kicked my backside into action. The ADA is applauding the changes which provides clear and clear regulations protecting the rights of people with diabetes in the workplace. How far this will go in creating better climates and working conditions for people with diabetes is not as clear as I had hoped.

Some of it is bound to be tested in the courts and possibly to the Supreme Court. But I will leave this to those in the legal profession. Some changes are definitely for the best and hopefully some of these will undergo further definition in the future as there are some gaping holes still existing that need addressing. But I am straying away to areas not covered in the ADA press release.

The ADA boasts about their participation which is all well and good and I am satisfied that they did what they were able considering all the groups participating and demanding this and that regulation. Yet, I do wonder if they left some areas that were in need of action to get other regulations. This is the problem within our political system of compromise which leaves needs on the table.

Employment discrimination is a big issue addressed and for that I am thankful. The new regulations will benefit people with diabetes and employers. It will simplify the determination as to whether an individual is covered under the law and allow attention to be put on the issue of whether a person with diabetes is discriminated against because of diabetes.

I have much more information to work through and it is a time consuming task. I just wanted you to know some of what is occupying my time and why I needed a break from blogging. And I am enjoying some time away from research.

How to Care for Your Hands for BG Testing

Thank goodness for some media sources. In this, I first have to thank Tom Ross at Not Medicated Yet for his blog and alerting me to this study. Tom links to American Diabetes Association Care section and when I asked, he told me about a medscape article. Further research uncovered the same article at Reuters Health without the spelling error Tom had so much fun with.

If it was not for these two sources, many of us may have missed something important that the ADA wants to keep out of sight for us patients and many doctors will also miss. This subject needs wide distribution and press so that more people will become aware of the proper procedures for hand care before blood glucose testing. Do not expect ADA to say much about this as hand cleaning procedures recommended by the study goes against meter manufacturers recommendations.

First, this is just another reason to not use alcohol swabs, they proved in this study that they are ineffective and do not prevent erroneous readings even with use five times. Washing with tap water is the recommendation of the study. Nothing was said about warm or cold water as well no mention was made of using soap. I personally use warm water and soap and not alcohol swabs which can severely dry and crack your fingers.

Tom covers the facts of the study, so please read his blog of February 11, 2011. Then take time to read the Reuters Health article here. Then think about contacting ADA and asking for them to make the study more public. Studies like this that affect us, the patients, needs to be made public and not hidden from patients and requiring a fee of $45 to see.