WHICH IS BETTER – FINGER PRICK OR CGM?

outside of the body (the location may vary depending on brand) with a small filament sitting in the interstitial fluid (fluid surrounding the cells) which either sends readings to a device every 1-5 minutes or the CGM is scanned by a device to get a reading.

As technology is improving there are more options available for diabetes monitoring. Most recently CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) has been making headlines in the community promoting “zero finger pricks” and continuous glucose data. It has left people wondering which is better.

Understanding how CGM works is crucial in deciding what the better option is to manage your diabetes. CGM is a small device worn on the

Finger pricking involves using a lancet to get a small drop of blood from your finger to place on a blood glucose test strip. This gives you your blood glucose levels at the specific time. There is no delay and, as a bonus, you can also use most machines to check ketones.

After reviewing the pros and cons list there are a few questions you can ask yourself:

• What CGMs are on the market?

• Which one suits my situation?

• What do I want to find out about my blood glucose levels?

• Is this covered by the NDSS for my type of diabetes?

• What will the out-of-pocket costs be?

• Am I happy with my current method?

It’s important to note that you can start, stop and change your method whenever you like. If you try a CGM and it is not right for you, going back to finger pricking is as easy as just removing the device from your arm. Changing between finger pricking and CGM is fine and can reduce the feelings of alarm fatigue and information overload.