Self Monitoring Of Blood Sugar

There are many different blood sugar monitors out there on the market. It will be up to you and your health care professional to decide which blood sugar monitor will best suit your needs. A blood sugar monitor is a tool that you can use to keep your blood sugars within target range. Your health care professional will determine which blood sugar testing schedule will be best for you. Therefore, I will not be talking about testing schedules or individual monitors. Instead, I will like to give you some general guidelines in how to test your blood sugar. These guidelines are useful no matter what blood sugar monitor you may have.

-Wash your hands with soap and water prior to taking your blood sugar. Make sure you rinse your hands well with water. The reason for this is because if you have any sugar residue on your fingers, it can dramatically affect the results because the blood sample is so small.

-Ensure that your skin is dry, as moisture on the hands can also affect your results.

-Alcohol should not normally be used to clean the site because it can cause drying and cracking of the skin. However, if you do choose to use alcohol, be sure to dry the skin thoroughly afterwards. If you don't do this, it may affect your results.

-Make sure that the test strips are fresh. Use them within three months of opening the container, as stale or outdated strips may not give you accurate results.

-Keep your test strips in the original container. They are sensitive to light and humidity.

-Make sure that the monitor is coded to the current test strip lot number (some monitors are self-coding)

-Make sure that the lancet is sharp and that the lancing device is set at the correct depth so that a good amount of blood sample can be obtained without having to squeeze the testing site.

-Warm your finger by massaging or holding your hand under warm water so that the blood comes to the surface of your skin before testing. Remember to dry your hand well prior to the actual test.

-Lance the outer side of your fingertip

-Lower your hand after lancing your finger. Allow a large enough drop of blood to form naturally. This may take 5 to 10 seconds. Try not to squeeze the site as this will alter your results.

-Hold the drop of blood to the test strip end for a few seconds to ensure that the test strip is full. If this is not done, the monitor may give a false low result or no result at all

-Test your monitor regularly with the control solution that is provided with your monitor.

I hope that this web page has been helpful in giving you information on how to check your blood sugar using a blood sugar monitor.