Are there good and bad blood glucose meters for diabetics? If so, how to choose the best ones? Having better blood glucose meters can definitely contribute to better diabetes management.
A glucometer or blood glucose meter is a device used by diabetics to determine the approximate concentration of sugar in the blood – a very important thing for patients with diabetes. A small drop of blood after pricking the skin is placed in a disposable test strip which the meter reads. The glucose meter displays the level in mg/dl or mmol/l. Maintaining blood glucose at safe levels is the topmost goal of diabetes management. Glucose meters is a huge help in this area.
Choosing the right meter
There are many blood glucose meters available for sale. Choosing the best glucose meter depends on the available meters, cost of test strips and what suits you most. It still varies because people have different unique personal preferences. Choosing a blood glucose meter for some diabetics depends on their lifestyles, type of job and color and size preferences. Appearance is quite the topmost selling point since a nice appearance can make the testing of blood more bearable sometimes. Some even prefer those meters which do not look like glucometers at all.
Frequency of use
For frequent testers, say at least 4 times daily, you need more large result memory in your meter, 200 or more results for example. A software to download the results or the ability to add notes can also be useful.
For less testers, or for those who buy their own strips, the cost of strips can be one of the major factors in choosing the blood glucose meter to use for diabetics.
Blood sample quantity
Checking on the blood sample size needed for the meter to perform the test will help you determine how much blood you need from your finger to perform a test. A size of 1 to 1.5 microliters can be quite small. The bigger the sample size, the more blood you need to get the result and vice versa.
Accuracy
Most glucose meters cannot confirm a 100% accuracy. The results they display have an accuracy of about 10% of the figure. If you are concerned more of the accuracy, choose one with control solution for calibration testing.
Whole blood glucose or plasma glucose
An important factor to know is when the blood glucose meter reads plasma glucose or whole blood glucose. While laboratories test plasma glucose in diabetics, glucometers generally measure whole blood glucose. Plasma glucose readings are about 10-15% higher than whole blood glucose reading in the same measurement. That is why, the results for whole blood glucose are computed by increasing 10-15% in order to get their approximate plasma reading.
Other factors
Other factors to consider can be meter display, either large- or small-sized, easier to read, readings from memory or displayed one at a time; time to produce results like producing results in 5 seconds or less; all-in-1 meters which are meters that already have finger pricking device or not; extra features like backlit screens in blood glucose meters that help diabetics to do testing in the dark, adding notes, display charts, averages or even with voice; meter support like batteries and meter warranty.
The ultimate goal
No matter what meter to use, as long as it is utilized to achieve the primary goal to determine blood sugar levels which will serve as a gauge to do adjustments in diet and lifestyle so the levels will be at safer range.
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