7 things to keep in mind when you are monitoring your blood sugar levels
Worried about your abruptly fluctuating sugar levels in your blood, with them majorly rising northwards? Worry not. While the major controlling practices are still in your hands (in terms of changes required in your lifestyle and eating habits), the proper conduction of sugar level tests is also a must to ensure that whether you are going wrong or right in controlling the same.
Nowadays, one can check the sugar levels in his/her at the comfort of his/her home without paying a visit to a clinic or hospital, thanks to a new range of test devices available at all the medical clinics. However, there are some pointers which one must be aware of before conduction of such tests by himself/herself and monitoring the processes and results of them. Following are those pointers:-
Take proper advice while choosing suitable glucometer – Thanks to innovations in the medical world in the last three decades, one can find whether sugar levels in his/her blood are high or not at the comfort of his/her home. There are many glucometers (a device which shows how much sugar level is there in your blood) available in the market right now. However, one must consult with a doctor or properly research about the right and suitable brand to go for.
Take proper advice before getting started – All the glucometers have proper guidelines and procedure to use imprinted on their packet or leaflets provided along with them. However, if one is not able to understand the required guidelines through them, it is advisable to consult with a doctor on how to use the device on your own. This has to be insured because if the procedure is carried out wrongly, you won’t be able to get the right and desirable results.
Clean the point of body where the test has to be conducted – The blood tests are usually carried out with glucometer primarily on fingertips or hands. So before putting the device to its use, it is advisable to thoroughly clean the fingertips and hands with an antiseptic hand wash. If not done so, chances are that the possible dirt accumulated on those points of the test might create hindrance in getting optimum test results.
Preferably use fingertips for the test – While there are many modern kits through which one can conduct the blood tests on other parts of the body as well, it is always advisable to preferably use fingertips for the purpose. Also, while conducting tests more than once, it is recommended to use different fingertips every time, as using the same finger again and again can injure it, thus increasing pain levels.
Ensure the lancets are properly sharpened – The lancets are basically the pointed objects provided with the glucometers, which are used to poke the finger resulting in blood to come out of it. Before the test, one must ensure that the lancets are sharp enough without causing any hurt to the finger. Also, it is advisable to use different lancets every time you conduct the test, as repeated use of the same lancet can cause infection. In addition, the expiry date of the lancets should be checked, failing of which can result in improper reading.
Ensure proper calibration of glucometer – To ensure that you get the closest-to-right reading of sugar levels in your blood, it is advisable to always well calibrate the glucometer before use. This should be a regular practice every time you use the device, and the first-ever calibration should be done at the diagnostic center or medical shop from where you purchased it.
Keep track of the readings in the record – While conducting and knowing about the results of the test might be a one-time process, it is important to keep a track record of all the readings of every time you conduct the test. Following this procedure will only help to track your progress towards healing. Nowadays, thankfully, many glucometers come equipped with result recorders inbuilt in them. However, if your device doesn’t have this feature, you can maintain the series of results in a logbook.
While following all these steps might seem quite easy, failing any one of these might not get you the accuracy you want in your sugar level test results. So, if you think that you have gone wrong in any one of the above steps, you should consult with a trained endocrinologist for suitable advice regarding this.