Diabetes Testing Supplies to Help Maintain Normal Blood Sugar Levels If your blood sugar level is not within the normal blood glucose range you are at higher risk of developing short-term and long-term complications. Normal blood sugar levels depend on when the test was taken. Accuracy of blood sugar levels depend upon high quality diabetes testing supplies and use of the correct technique when using them. The diabetes testing supplies needed depend upon your type of diabetes, your goals in maintaining normal blood sugar level and the recommendations of your health care provider. A type 1 diabetic requires insulin as do many type 2 diabetics. Diabetics taking insulin require syringes and needles or an insulin pump and insulin for administration. Supplies important to the results of the testing may also include an insulated or cooled container for insulin transport, a container to dispose of needles, and the correct insulin or combination of insulin. If self administering insulin a place to keep records is also recommended. Insulin pumps have the capacity to store this information in memory.
Recording of blood sugar levels can be done in a log book where blood sugar levels are recorded along with time of day and the kind and amount of insulin administered. These same records need to be kept if one is on an oral medication rather than insulin. In order to obtain blood sugar levels a glucometer is needed. A glucometer is sometimes called a blood glucose monitor. They are used to obtain blood glucose levels via a finger tip sample. Glucometers require supplies for use that are specific to the brand of glucometer being used. Needed are a finger stick device with additional finger stick needles, test strips that are used to transfer glucose results from the blood sample into the glucometer for reading, and, depending upon the brand of the glucometer, a control solution which is used to test new containers of test strips that have a different code.
Diabetic testing supplies needed may different depending upon the age of the diabetic and the situation. Recommendations for a woman with diabetes trying to become pregnant will differ from that of a male of similar age. As target blood sugar level ranges vary, recommended diabetic testing supplies may differ. Diabetes testing supplies and medications needed to help keep a diabetic in control can be quite expensive. One piece of equipment especially popular in diabetics who are difficult to control, like young diabetics with varying activity levels, is a continuous glucose monitoring device. These devices give continuous glucose readings in real time. The devices and the supplies needed for their use are costly and out of the reach of most diabetics unless their insurance helps cover the cost. Diabetes testing supplies, used as directed can help maintain normal blood sugar levels and help prevent or delay the symptoms and complications of the disease. It is important to keep blood sugar levels normal to help ward off the complications and symptoms of type 2 diabetes as well as those of type 1 and type 1.5 or 3 diabetes.