Type 1 Diabetes Product Reviews
“The Painless Lancing Device” Genteel Review
After seeing so many type 1 diabetic families discussing this seemingly “unicorn” of lancing devices our children were beyond excited to get the opportunity to try out their very own Genteel lancing device! The device is referred to as the “gentle lancing device” and our very own type 1 diabetic review panel (Sierra: 12 year old girl – diagnosed at 15 months old) and (Dylan: 14 year old boy – diagnosed at 25 months old) had this to say about the product.
Our first impressions upon opening the box was that the device was large but very cool looking. It comes in your choice of colors as well as with some stickers that can be used to customize the device. While a teen boy is not really interested in stickers, it is a fun feature for younger children and girls.
The device definitely requires the user to read directions and watch a video prior to using. The 1st step is to locate the correct colored contact tip to meet the needs of the user. The different colored contact tips represent the depth needed to draw a blood drop. Most other lancing devices have a simple dial on the device for the depth of penetration. While fun and colorful it took the kids a few tries to find the correct colored contact tip to fit their individual needs. A drawback to having these contact tips is that you have to manually take them on and off and it can be a little difficult for children to do this, but not too bad for an adult. Once you find the right tip for the user you should not need to change it.
The next step is to insert the lancet you will be using into the device. Genteel provides you with a couple of lancets to get you started. A nice feature is that this lancing device can be used with Lifescan OneTouch UltraSoft lancets and other square based lancets. The one drawback to this part of the device is that there is no quick release function to remove the used lancet. The user needs to manually pull the sharp lancet from the device with their fingers.
Now for the actual moment of truth where we use the device to draw blood and see if the Genteel is truly “painless.” It took the kids a few moments to get past the very loud noise it makes when activated in the air without the contact tip being lined up with an actual testing site. However, once you apply the contact tip to a testing area the sound is not nearly as loud. At first when we tried the device our type 1 kids did not feel that it was “painless.” We decided to email Genteel to let them know our findings and we were shocked and amazed when we received this…
Upon sending our email to Genteel we received an email back from them asking if we would be willing to work with them a little further to make sure that we were accurately using the Genteel lancing device and so that they could help us with some more instruction receive the “painless” results that they talk about. We were so pleasantly surprised by this amazing customer support that we took them up on their offer. We scheduled a phone meeting and I was walked through the best sites to be “painless” as well as exactly how to apply the contact tip to the skin to get the best results! They even told me that if our children still did not have the results they were looking for that they would set up a web meeting with Dr. Jacobs, Genteel’s very own Chief Research Engineer. Genteel definitely exceeded our expectations!
While our kids found this device to be a bit big and bulky for their pre-teen and teen liking, we did find that when used properly it is “painless” but does have a small learning curve on how to properly use it. Our overall review is that although the price tag is a bit steep $129.00, if you are interested in giving the device a try you definitely cannot lose! Genteel offers a 120 Day Money-Back Guarantee as well as a 1-Year Replacement Warranty. It is evident to us that Genteel truly cares about their customers and stands behind their lancing device 100%.
Disclosure: EASE T1D’s children received complimentary Genteel lancing devices for review. All opinions are our own.
Watch our video to see just how to use the Genteel lancing device.
FRIO Product Review
We recently had the opportunity to test the FRIO Insulin Cooling Cases which claim to keep Insulin at a
cool 78 degree Fahrenheit for a minimum of two days even in 100 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. The
FRIO is a reusable evaporative cooler whose cooling properties don’t come from an icepack and it
doesn’t require refrigeration. We were intrigued! The FRIO’s cooling properties come from the
evaporation of water. Pretty cool, literally!
We tested out the Pump Wallet as well as the Large Wallet which can hold up to 4 Insulin Pens. First,
you must soak the FRIO in water to activate. Once activated we put a bottle of Insulin in the Large
Wallet and had my son place it in his baseball bag for the next two days. We started the experiment on
a Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. The next day my son made sure his baseball bag sat out in the hot sun,
in 91 degree weather for 2 hours. We checked the FRIO pouch 24 hours later and to our surprise it was
still cool to the touch. We continued this routine for the next 24 hours and were so impressed to see
that this product kept our Insulin cool the whole time. In fact, it was still cool a full 72 hours later!
As for the Pump Wallet, my son takes off his insulin pump up to 2 hours each day while playing baseball.
The Pump Wallet not only kept his pump cool, but was also cool to the touch 72 hours later.
We highly recommend this product to anyone who has medications that are temperature sensitive. We
found the product to be convenient and easy to use. This product will be a life saver especially in times
of emergency preparedness.
