The Ins and Outs of Blood Glucose Testing

If you have read the other pages on this site, you know that making your meter your "best friend" and testing often is the key to learning to control your diabetes. However, many new diabetics have trouble learning how to test correctly and painlessly. Here are some tips:

Getting Your Meter Ready
Every time you open a new batch of strips, you must enter the control number from those strips into your meter. The control number allows your meter to automatically adjust for variances in the manufacturing process of the test strips.

Different meters do this differently. Some require you to enter the number in the readout window by pressing a button, while others provide you a code key which is inserted in the meter. No matter which method your meter uses, failure to set the control number will result in erroneous readings. Check your meter's manual. Insert a test strip into your meter.

Getting Yourself Ready
Wash your hands with soap and warm water. Rinse and dry them thoroughly. It is not necessary to use an alcohol swab. In fact, alcohol is a very poor antiseptic and will often toughen your skin and cause callouses.

The Ins and Outs of Lancing
Most meters come with lancing devices. Some are better than others. Most are adjustable, and many diabetics find that the middle depth setting is a good place to start. The actual little needle that does the lancing is called a lancet, and is inserted into the lancing device. Most lancing devices take a standard lancet. Others require one specially made for the device.

There are many different kinds of lancets. The main difference between them is the gauge of the needle -- smaller being better. Many feel that the B-D Ultra-Fine 31ga. lancet is the most painless. By the way, a 31ga. lancet has a thinner needle than a 28ga.

Never lance the tip of the finger, or the pad. Those spots have the most nerves. Instead, lance the side of the finger, below the nail, as in the illustration below.

If you have trouble getting enough blood, try lowering your hand below your waist for a minute, or shaking your hand. Sometimes using warmer water when washing your hands before lancing may help. As a last resort, you can adjust the lancing device to a deeper setting.

Using this method, you have at least 20 spots to lance, so rotate sites to the inside/outside of each finger with every test.

Most experienced diabetics do not change the lancet with every test. As long as you keep the lancing device in a clean environment, there is a miniscule chance of infection. Obviously, change the lancet if it starts to hurt, or if you are going to test someone else. Remember to give yourself a fresh lancet afterwards.

After lancing, a drop of blood will usually form. If not, try "milking" your finger toward the tip. Apply the drop of blood according to the method required for your particular meter.

Make sure that you apply enough blood to the test strip. Too little blood will cause an erroneous reading. After your meter registers the reading, dispose of the strip properly in either a "sharps container", an empty bleach bottle, or some other container that will prevent others from sticking themselves. Dispose of a full bottle according to local rules.

After a while, the whole thing will become second nature, and you will hardly think about it.