Blood Glucose Meters
Diabetes blood sugar levels (blood glucose) monitoring is the primary tool you have to find out if your blood glucose levels are within your target range. Therefore, this tells you your blood glucose level at any one time.
It’s important for blood glucose levels to stay in a healthy range. For instance, if glucose levels get too low, we can lose the ability to think and function normally. However, if they get too high and stay high, it can cause damage or complications to the body over the course of many years.
Above all, the logging of your results is vital. When you bring your log to your healthcare provider, you’ll have a good picture of your body’s response to your diabetes care plan.
Checking Your Glucose Levels
Who Should Check?
First, talk to your doctor about whether you should be checking your diabetes blood sugar levels. Secondly, people who may benefit from checking blood glucose regularly include those:
• taking insulin.
• who are pregnant.
• having a hard time controlling blood glucose levels.
• who have low blood glucose levels.
• have ketones from high blood glucose levels.
How Do I Check?
People with diabetes check their blood glucose levels by poking their fingertips and using a blood glucose meter or a continuous glucose monitor (CGMs) to measure the blood glucose level at that moment. Read on to find out how to use a blood glucose meter. Furthermore, to find out more about CGMs, start by talking to your doctor.
What Are the Target Ranges?
How to Use Blood Glucose Meters
Step 1:
After washing your hands, insert a test strip into your meter.
Step 2:
Use your lancing device on the side of your fingertip to get a drop of blood.
Step 3:
Touch and hold the edge of the test strip to the drop of blood and wait for the result.
Step 4:
Your blood glucose level will appear on the meter’s display.
Note: All meters are slightly different, so always refer to your user’s manual for specific instructions.
Other Testing Tips
• With some meters, you can also use your forearm, thigh, or fleshy part of your hand, for instance.
• Presently, there are spring-loaded lancing devices that make sticking yourself less painful.
• If you use your fingertip, stick the side of your fingertip by your fingernail to avoid having sore spots on the frequently used part of your finger.
Continuous Glucose Meters
A continuous glucose monitoring system, or CGM, for short is a compact medical system that continuously monitors your blood sugar levels in more or less real time.
To use a CGM, you insert a small sensor onto your abdomen that includes a tiny canula that penetrates the skin. An adhesive patch holds the sensor in place, allowing it to take glucose readings throughout the day and night. Additionally, the sensors have to be replaced every 10 to 14 days.
A small reusable transmitter connected to the sensor allows the system to send real time readings wirelessly to a monitor device that displays your blood glucose data. Some systems come with a dedicated monitor, and some now display the information via smart phone app, so you don’t have to carry an extra device around with you.
Besides the constant stream of data, most CGMs can send alerts telling you when your blood sugar levels are rising too high or dropping too low. After all, CGMs have revolutionized diabetes care. Unlike a traditional fingerstick blood glucose meter (BGM), which provides a single glucose reading, CGM systems provide continuous dynamic glucose information every 5 minutes.
How to Use
To use a CGM, you insert a small sensor onto your abdomen that includes a tiny canula that penetrate the skin. Secondly, an adhesive patch holds the sensor in place, allowing it to take glucose readings throughout the day and night. Additionally, the sensors have to be replaced every 10 to 14 days.
