How to Use Blood Sugar Test Kit | Diabetes Care Diabetes is the most prevalent chronic disease suffered by US citizens nowadays. As a result, the health care system puts high emphasis on disease prevention as well as screening. Early detection can be a great help in intervening and more importantly preventing the progression of pre diabetes to diabetes. There are many options to undergo for a pre diabetes test such as Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGT), Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FGT) or A1C, all of which depends on the recommendation of the doctor. Once diagnosed with pre diabetes or diabetes, a blood sugar test kit is a must-have device, along with healthy lifestyle and diet.
Home Blood Sugar Test Kit A blood sugar test kit allows the patients to monitor and keep an accurate data of blood sugar levels in order to efficiently manage their diabetes. Moreover, blood sugar test kit is an integral part of staying on top of diabetes. It can be bought from a pharmacy even without prescription. A blood sugar test kit is usually consists of blood glucose meter, test strips that are kept in a specially designed vial, and a lancing device. A droplet of blood is obtained from the patient through the lancing device. The blood is then placed on the testing strip to be inserted in the blood glucose meter to accurately read the blood sugar levels.
Testing Blood Sugar Levels The following are the usual process of testing using the blood sugar test kit: 1. Ensure you washed your hands prior to starting the test. Refrain from using baby wipes or hand sanitizer as they may affect the result of the reading. 2. Stack the finger-pricking device with a new lancet. 3. Wait for the “ready� symbol to flash on the glucose meter’s monitor. 4. Once shown, position the tip of the lancing device against the side of your finger. Squeeze your finger to extract a droplet of blood. 5. Place the droplet of blood on the test strip in the glucose meter. 6. Make sure to follow the instructions as indicated on the product label.
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Ensure the window on the test strip is full of blood. Wait until the meter displays the blood sugar level result. Record the result and interpret it according to the instructions given by your physician. Dispose the used test strip. Avoid re-using the lancet to avoid infection.
Ensure to know how to properly use the blood sugar test kit in order to avoid disregarding the symptoms of high blood sugar and miscalculating the insulin medication dose.
Source: How to Use Blood Sugar Test Kit | Diabetes Care