Testing Your Blood Glucose Level At Home: Are You Doing It Wrong?

What can be measured can be fixed. Or so the saying goes!

For people with diabetes (or pre-diabetes), it’s essential to keep a track of their blood glucose level. It is the cornerstone to effectively control the disease and steer towards a healthier you.

So, investing in a good glucometer is a good idea.

However, even if you have a diabetes testing machine at home, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re on the right path if you’re not doing it right.

Yes, the process of testing your blood sugar level at home might seem simple, but you can make errors, which will then hinder the general purpose of the test, rendering inefficient and irrelevant results.

Testing on a Whim with No Consistency

One of the first mistakes is testing any time of the day, with a plan.

For starters, it’s important to test multiple times a day (at least in the early phase). So you get to understand your “normal” blood glucose level throughout the day; when it’s at peak, when it goes low, and what your average glucose level is.

But if you’re inconsistent in your test timing, it could could lead to ineffective results.

Finding the Right Time to Test

Fasting glucose (you haven’t eaten anything in the past 8 hours) and postprandial glucose (you had a meal 2 hours back) are two important times to test your blood sugar level.

Besides, you should designate a few other times of the day to test. And this routine must be followed consistently without failing every day.

This consistency will help you track your blood glucose better, underlining a possible pattern or trend, which will reveal further insights into how this disease is affecting your body.

Sadly, many people just test on a whim, without heeding to the relevance of time. You don’t want to be one of them. This is a common and perhaps one of the biggest mistakes.

Testing is an integral part of diabetes management that should be accommodated in your daily routine.

Other Blood Glucose Testing Mistakes

Other than this, there are several other blood sugar testing mistakes that you might be making. Like, using the same lancet multiple times…

Ideally, a lancet should be changed after every use. Subsequent uses make the tip dull. Plus, it also increases the chances of getting infection, especially if you’re not paying attention to cleanliness.

Similarly, before and after pricking, you want to sanitize your finger properly to minimize the chances of getting an infection. (Cleaning before testing is important. if you have residual sugar on your finger, it could lead to inaccurate results.)

Also, instead of using the same finger and the same spot, you might want to change things a bit. Pricking the same spot can cause a callus to form.

Find a Good Doctor (If Needed)

Doctors usually provide basic tips and advice to patients to properly test and track their blood glucose levels at home. If yours haven’t, ask them. If you have queries or concerns, ask them.

If you’re not satisfied with the doctor or your glucose level doesn’t seem to be getting under control, consider contacting another diabetes management services provider.

Find a good community wellness center that treats diabetes; see if they have home qualified and experienced doctors.

Remember diabetes management is teamwork between the doctor and patient. If you are to manage your blood glucose level in a better way, you must work along with a good doctor whom you trust. They will help you steer clear of basic mistakes; while helping you get your diabetes under control.

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