English for PTA

Type 1 Diabetes

Abbildung www.abda.de www.abda.de

With careful monitoring, correct insulin therapy, sensible blood sugar checking and a healthy well-balanced diet and lifestyle, type 1 can be managed so that sufferers can lead long and healthy lives.

While the more common type 2 is generally weight-related, type 1 occurs when the body’s autoimmune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. A properly calibrated glucose meter, also known as glucometer, is essential for accurate blood sugar values. Of course, the best place to go to get it calibrated is the pharmacy where it is possible to get qualified advice.

Pharmacy customer: Hello.
PTA: Hello, what can I do for you?

I have a pick-up ticket for test strips for my glucometer.
Could you tell me your name, please?

Yes, it’s Anna Sheehan.
Just a second, I’ll go and take a look to see if they’re there. We had to order them because a lot of our regular customers have diabetes. Ah, yes, here it is!

Thank you. Do you have hand disinfectant in a small spray bottle? I need it to disinfect my finger before testing.
Well, we do have a spray here, but, to be honest, you don’t really need it. It isn’t necessary to disinfect your fingertip every time you know. It’s perfectly okay as long as you keep to the normal hand-washing routine.

Oh! I see. I thought I needed it before squeezing the fingertip to get a droplet of blood!
I’m sorry, I don’t want to give you the impression that I’m a know-itall, but pressing the fingertip isn’t necessary either. Just wait one or two seconds after the pin-prick and you’ll have enough for the glucometer. You see, most glucometers are sensitive enough to measure your blood sugar level with just very little blood.

But are the glucometers always accurate?
Glucometers need to be checked regularly to see if they are still taking accurate readings. Isn’t that very expensive? Not all! You can bring your glucometer to us and we can compare its reading to ours. We don’t usually charge for the service of calibrating it for you.

Now that is nice. I’ll bring mine tomorrow, if that’s alright with you.
No problem. Oh, and just to remind you: you should always take the first reading, in the morning, on an empty stomach.

Have you any other handy hints for me?
Yes, I do. If you wish, you can register for one of our regular “nutrition days” and we’ll send you an invitation.

Yes, I’ll register straight away, nutrition is very important for diabetics.
Here you are, you can register here. And here are your test strips.

Thank you, see you tomorrow. Bye!
Goodbye!

Vocabulary
monitoring Überwachung, Kontrolle
diet Ernährung, Ernährungsweise
more common häufiger
destroys zerstört
pancreas Bauchspeicheldrüse
properly genau, richtig
pick-up ticket Abholschein, Abholzettel
disinfectant Desinfektionsmittel
disinfect desinfizieren
squeezing ausquetschen
nutrition Ernährung, Ernährungsweise
invitation Einladung

Den vollständigen Artikel finden Sie auch in Die PTA IN DER APOTHEKE 04/10 auf Seite 22.

Catherine Croghan, croghan@fh-fresenius.de

Stichworte: Diabetes, Englisch für PTA, Insulin, Type 1 Diabetes, blood sugar, blood sugar checking , glucometer