People whose physicians have recommended statins and a low-fat diet may also wish to track their blood triglyceride levels at home. Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood that may contribute to the formation of plaque and blockages in the circulatory system. According to Harvard Medical School's Family Health Guide, monitoring triglycerides helps doctors and patients to adjust dosages of antilipid medications, monitor blood lipid levels to check response to diet and exercise interventions, and decrease the risk of complications of hyperlipidemia. Equipment is now available to easily monitor blood triglycerides at home.
Preparing Your Cholesterol Analyzer
Step 1
Be familiar with the setup, maintenance and operation of your particular brand and model of analyzer. Read all instruction manuals and package inserts thoroughly.
Step 2
Calibrate your analyzer and perform recommended quality control tests according to user manual instructions.
Step 3
Turn on the analyzer and insert a triglyceride test strip according to package directions. The words "Apply Sample" will appear on the screen when the analyzer is ready.
Obtaining a Blood Sample
Step 1
Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water.
Step 2
Clean tip of finger with alcohol swab. Allow to dry completely or test result may be inaccurate.
Step 3
Puncture the skin on the side of the fingertip with a lancet. Use a new, sterile lancet each time you perform a test. You can put the lancet into a spring-loaded lancet pen if desired.
Step 4
Wipe away the first drop of blood with a cotton ball or piece of sterile gauze.
Step 5
Gently squeeze the finger to get a second blood drop and either apply the drop directly to the blood application window on the test strip or capture the blood in a capillary pipet and use the pipet to apply the blood to the blood application window. Your test results should appear in about a minute.
Tips and Warnings
- To obtain a good blood sample, ensure that your fingers are warm and allow them to hang in a dependent position for a moment or two to allow gravity to help fill the capillaries with blood. Also, if you are using a lancet pen device, make sure the depth adjustment is set to give you a deep enough puncture to reach capillary beds. People with thick or callused skin may need deeper punctures than others.
- Home testing of triglycerides is only accurate if instructions for both the analyzer and the test strips are followed correctly. Equipment must be maintained and stored according to manufacturer instructions. Once you have performed your finger stick, avoid vigorously milking the finger to get more blood. Milking may result in inaccurate test results. The FDA notes that home triglyceride testing should be considered an adjunct to physician monitoring and laboratory testing, due only to the risk of inaccuracy.
Things You'll Need
- Portable blood cholesterol analyzer
- Test strips
- Alcohol wipes
- Sterile lancet
- Spring-loaded pen for lancet
- Cotton balls or gauze
- Capillary pipet
