Blood glucose monitors are medical devices that help people with prediabetes or diabetes keep track of their daily blood sugar levels at home. The blood sugar measurements can help a person decide whether meals, exercise or insulin dosages require adjustment and make it easier to control blood sugar levels from day to day, an important part of diabetes self-management.
Types
There are two main types of home blood glucose monitors. Conventional monitors use a blood sample from a person's finger, arm, forearm or thigh to measure blood sugar. With continuous blood glucose monitors, a health care provider places a sensor under a person's skin, and the sensor sends wireless blood sugar readings to a monitor worn around the person's waist or arm.
Accuracy
According to the American Diabetes Association, glucose monitors record blood sugar levels accurately, but user error can skew results. For best results, the meter needs to be clean, both the meter and strip must remain at room temperature, the test strip must not be expired, the meter must be calibrated properly for the test strips, and the blood drop must be large enough.
Procedure
To use a home glucose monitor, patients put the test strip in the monitor and use a lancet to prick the skin of the finger, placing a drop of blood on the test strip. The test strip contains a chemical that allows the monitor to measure the amount of glucose in the blood, and the monitor provides a number on the digital display, which the patient can then record in a logbook.
Cost
According to the January 2010 review of glucose monitors published by Diabetes Forecast magazine, many home blood glucose monitors are free or inexpensive because manufacturers or insurance companies offer rebates. The cost of home blood glucose monitoring lies in the testing strips, which typically cost between 50 cents and $1 for each strip. Depending on the number of times daily or weekly the doctor recommends testing blood glucose, that cost could rise to more than $1,800 annually. Insurance companies may cover some of the cost of the strips.
Precautions
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests users carefully read all instructions that come with the meter before attempting to measure their blood sugar levels. They should also take care to use blood sugar readings taken from the fingertip, especially if they sense that blood sugar levels may register low. For some monitors, regular cleaning is necessary. Users should check their blood glucose monitor manual so they understand how to clean the meter.
References
- National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Continuous Glucose Monitoring
- American Diabetes Association: Blood Glucose Meters
- National Library of Medicine: Blood Glucose Monitoring
- Diabetes Forecast; Blood Glucose Meters; Katie Bunker; January 2010
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Getting Up to Date on Glucose Monitoring
