A compact, portable instrument called a glucometer enables you to monitor your blood sugar levels (glucose levels) at home.
You’ll learn how to use a glucometer from your doctor. A test strip will first be inserted into the device. Then you will pierce your finger to get a little drop of blood that you may place on the strip for the glucometer to examine.
These tools, sometimes known as glucose meters, may inform you in a matter of seconds if your blood sugar is normal, too low, or too high. A glucometer may provide you with useful information no matter what kind of diabetes you have.
This article examines the operation of glucometers, who should use them, when and how to test, goal ranges, and methods for assisting young patients in testing their blood sugar.
Who Must Use a Glucose Meter?
If you have: You may need to use a glucometer often.
- Diabetes type 1
- Diabetes type 2
- LADA, also known as type 1 adult-onset latent autoimmune diabetes,
- Type 2 diabetes is comparable to gestational diabetes, which only manifests during pregnancy.
Using a glucometer often may assist you:
- Examine your blood sugar levels and general vigilance.
- Check your blood sugar levels after a workout or under stress.
- Find out what else causes your levels to rise or fall.
- Track the results of your treatments, both medical and otherwise.
- Check your progress toward your treatment objectives.
Because uncontrolled diabetes has both immediate and long-term negative health effects, glucose management is crucial.
Testing Period
When and how frequently you should monitor your blood sugar levels should be discussed with your doctor. Make sure you are prepared for both high and poor outcomes.
Your type of diabetes and treatment regimen may affect how often you get tested. Which testing schedule is most suitable for you will be specified by your healthcare practitioner. The timetable may or might not follow the basic recommendations.
Type 1 diabetes
The pancreas produces the hormone insulin. It facilitates the use of blood glucose by your cells. The pancreas produces very little or no insulin when a person has type 1 diabetes.
This makes testing often crucial. It assists in ensuring that you have adequate insulin to maintain steady blood sugar levels. Testing your blood glucose levels four to ten times a day may be necessary if you have type 1 diabetes.
You might check:
- (Meals and snacks) prior to
- Exercise before and after
- prior to going to bed
- It may happen at night.
You may need to test even more often if your schedule changes or if you get ill.
Type 2 and pregnancy-related diabetes
Your body still generates insulin when you have type 2 or gestational diabetes (GD), but it doesn’t utilize it well. Blood sugar levels increase as a result of what is known as insulin resistance.
You may only need to test two to four times a day if you have one of these illnesses. However, you could test much more often if your diagnosis is fresh and your levels aren’t yet stable.
You could verify:
- Before night and first thing in the morning
- Each meal and before going to bed
- Prior to each meal, for two hours thereafter, and before bed
Whether you use insulin or other drugs will influence this to some extent. You may not even need to test everyday if you control your diabetes with non-insulin medications and are aware of your regular patterns.
Ranges for Target Glucose
It’s possible that you don’t need to follow specific target glucose level recommendations. The appropriate range for you might be determined by your healthcare professional. Levels may change based on:
- Age
- Sex
- Exercise level
- Diabetes type
- How long have you been diabetic?
- Additional health issues
According to the American Diabetes Association, most non-pregnant persons with diabetes should stay within the following goal range.
Materials Required
Make sure you have all the required materials on hand before using your glucometer:
- Prep pad for alcohol or soap and water
- A lancing tool with a brand-new lancet for drawing blood
- Testing strip
- A means to keep track of results
You must use test strips designed specifically for usage with your glucometer. Additionally, the lancets must have the proper design for your lancing tool.
Glucometer Use: A Step-by-Step Guide
Only a drop of blood is required for glucometers. The meters are portable and compact enough to put in a bag. Anywhere can use one.
An instruction booklet is included with each gadget. Additionally, a medical professional will often discuss your new glucometer with you. This may be an endocrinologist or a certified diabetes educator (CDE), a health care provider who can also assist in creating a personalized care plan, food planning, and more.
These are basic guidelines, thus they may not apply to all glucometer models. The fleshy area of your hand, your thigh, or your forearm, for instance, may be used with various glucometers even though the fingers are the most typical places to utilize. Before using the gadget, consult the documentation.
Before beginning
Before drawing blood, have everything you need ready and wash your hands.
- Prepare your materials
- Wash your hands or use an alcohol pad to dry them. This lessens the risk of infection and gets rid of food leftovers that might skew your findings.
- Give the skin time to totally dry. A fingertip blood sample may get diluted by moisture. Avoid blowing on your skin to dry it since this might spread germs.
Getting a Sample and Testing It
Although it just takes a few seconds, applying it correctly will save you from having to re-stick yourself.
- Set the glucometer to on. A test strip is often inserted to do this. When it’s time to draw blood for the test strip, the glucometer screen will alert you.
- Use the lancing tool to make a small puncture on the side of your finger, close to the nail (or another suggested place). Compared to lancing your finger pads, this stings less.
- When your finger has generated a large enough drop, release the squeeze.
- Put the blood droplet on the strip.
- To stop the bleeding, blot your finger with the alcohol prep pad.
- Allow the glucometer to get a reading for a few seconds.
If you often struggle to get a quality blood sample, warm your hands by rubbing them vigorously together or by running water on them. Before you poke yourself, make sure they are dry once again.
Keeping Results Records
It is simpler for you and your healthcare practitioner to develop a treatment plan if you keep a record of your findings.
Although you may do this task on paper, smartphone applications that connect with glucometers make it quite simple. Some gadgets even record readings directly into the screen.
According to the blood sugar level, do what your doctor instructs. This can include taking insulin to lower your level or consuming carbs to raise it.
Preventing Common Issues
You can prevent inaccurate readings, inadequate samples, and monitor failure by properly maintaining and operating your glucose meter.
You ought to:
- Have additional batteries for glucometers on hand.
- Use only fresh test strips. They may provide unreliable findings.
- Strips should be kept in their container with the top securely fastened. Water or light may harm property.
- Maintain frequent gadget cleanings. When asked, do quality-control inspections. (For instructions, see your user handbook.)
- Larger blood samples are needed for certain devices. Use the amount of blood that your gadget specifies as a sample.
Chronic Pain
You have a few choices for relieving the pain if lancing your finger:
- Usage a new lancet every time: Repeated usage dulls lancets and makes pokes more painful. New lancets are also necessary for hygienic reasons.
- Your lancets’ gauge (thickness) should be adjusted: The lancet is thinner if the packaging’s number is greater. For instance, a 30-gauge lancet can be more comfortable than a 21-gauge one.
- Your lancing device’s settings may be changed to shallowen the poke. Try a low setting, like 2 or 3, and then gradually increase it until you have a nice sample with little discomfort.
- Alternate the side of the finger you use and which finger you use. Before you poke the areas again, that will allow them time to recover.
Mobile Glucose Testing
Always include additional test strips, lancets, and other supplies when you travel, including insulin, needles, and batteries.
Maintain your glucometer and test strips in a spot that’s clean and dry.
Avoid exposure to intense heat and sunshine. Never store your goods in checked luggage or leave them in your vehicle.7
A sturdy plastic pencil box makes a fantastic interim sharps container if you’re going to be traveling for a few days.
Check TSA regulations for transporting your supplies and prescriptions if you want to travel.
Monitoring Blood Sugar in Children
Any kind of diabetes in children requires regular glucose testing. A child may need testing more often than an adult, particularly if the child uses insulin.
Getting your youngster used to routine blood glucose checks can:
- resolving issues with the treatment plan
- empowering them to feel in charge of what’s going
- Their comprehension of how diet, physical activity, and medicine impact blood sugar
Additionally, glucose goal ranges for children may be greater than for adults. The appropriate range for a kid might be provided by their healthcare professional.
It may be necessary to test kids who have bouts of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar in the middle of the night.
When your kid is ill, further testing could also be necessary.
Aiding Children to Self-Test
With your kid, practice using the glucometer often. Giving them the resources and knowledge they need will aid in the transition to self-care.
Teach your youngster that monitoring their own blood sugar is a serious duty. Let them know that as they become older and more autonomous, it will become more crucial for controlling their disease.
An Alternative to Continuous Glucose Monitoring
If you have type 1 diabetes, you may want to consider a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) rather than a conventional glucometer since you need to check your blood sugar levels more often.
A small sensor is implant under your skin when you use a CGM. Typically, it goes in the
- higher arm
- Abdomen
- Thigh
Every five to fifteen minutes on average, the sensor sends a glucose reading to a specialized monitoring device or smartphone.
This method lessens—but does not completely eliminate—the necessity for finger pricks since the sensor is not update for many days.
Summary
You can keep an eye on your blood sugar levels using glucometers. People with type 1, type 2, LADA, and gestational diabetes utilize them.
You may learn from your healthcare practitioner how often to test as well as what your goal ranges are.
As instructed in the handbook, use and care for your glucometer. If you need assistance, speak with your doctor about seeing a trained diabetes educator.