If you have diabetes, it is important to control your glucose levels regularly.A glucometer facilitates this process.These are portable devices that use a small blood sample to tell you what their blood sugar levels are at that specific moment.Since glucose meters are tested in real time, this helps you make better decisions regarding what you are eating and how to dose your insulin, if you take this medication.

The importance of regular blood sugar tests
It is important to keep blood sugar inside a healthy range at all times.Because diabetes can make this difficult, regularly analyze your blood sugar level can help you make the right decisions to guarantee adequate control.The following are reasons why you need to evaluate your blood glucose levels according to the schedule recommended by your doctor:

• It helps you evaluate your diabetes treatment regime to make sure you are working for you
• You can determine how stress, disease and other factors are affecting their blood sugar levels
• It is easier to see when your glucose levels are too high or low so that you can take adequate corrective measures
• You will know how your exercise and diet regime are affecting your blood sugar levels
• It helps you evaluate how your medications work to help you maintain your diabetes under control so that you know if you need to make changes

How often try your blood sugar
Frequency with which you need to evaluate your blood sugar levels is highly individualized.It will also depend on the type of diabetes that you have and if it is going through a period with new treatments or if your sugar levels fluctuate a lot.You must speak with your doctor regularly and always make sure you perform the tests with sufficient frequency to maintain your sugar levels as controlled as possible.

If you have type 2 diabetes and do not need insulin, it is often recommended to perform a test twice a day.However, if you have good control over your levels, your doctor may not need to check it daily.If you use insulin for this condition, it is often suggested to test three or four times a day, especially if your insulin dose depends on your blood sugar levels throughout the day.

If you have type 1 diabetes, it is common to evaluate your blood sugar levels from four to 10 times a day.In most cases, a test will be carried out before going to sleep, around the meals and the hours at which he exercises.Your doctor will provide detailed instructions on when to control your sugar and how your levels in each control will affect your diet and insulin intake at that time.

How does a glucometer work?
When you use a glucometer, it provides a small blood sample, most of the time with the tip of your fingers.For the meter to read the blood sample, the sample is placed in a test strip for diabetics.This strip enters a small port at the bottom of its glucose meter.It is important to make sure you have the strip correctly inserted in your glucometer so that your results are precise.

Within the reactive strip there are different chemicals.Your blood will react with these to help your blood be readable for the glucometer.The electric currents cross the reactive strip of their monitor and show it a reading that is their blood sugar level.On average, a glucose monitor works in seconds to give it a reading.In most cases, this process lasts less than 30 seconds so that it can have a quick reading and inreal time of its glucose levels.

Alternative site vs.Finger blood tests
In some cases, a blood sample cannot be obtained from the fingertips.When this happens, your doctor can recommend a blood sugar meter that can use a sample of another area of ​​your body, such as the thigh or palm of your hand.Just make sure that when you get a sample of an alternative site, this is a site in your body that is approved in the specifications of your blood sugar monitor and associated reactive strips.

You can consider an alternative site meter if you have been checking your blood sugar level for a long time and easily hurt your fingers.In some cases, it can be difficult for people to get a blood sample from the fingertips.Without an adequate blood sample, you can get an inaccurate reading or any reading.Because of this, obtaining a viable sample of any other part of your body can guarantee precise control of your blood sugar levels.

In comparison with a blood sample of the finger yolk, the blood of an alternative trial site may not be so precise.It is important to consider this, especially if your blood sugar level has been going down or rapidly rapidly.Even if your glucometer allows alternative test sites, you can usually obtain a blood sample from the fingertips.If you believe that your sugar levels will be especially high or low, it may be better to use the finger yolk during these moments when possible, provided that the sample size is adequate.

What to keep in mind when choosing a glucometer
The glucose monitor you use must be one that you always have access.It is important not only to consider the blood sugar meter, but also the strips and lancets that work with it.There are several factors to take into account to ensure that you are making the right choice, which include:

• Call your health insurance company and determine how much they will cover for your monitor.You also need to know about the glucose reactive strips that they will cover and how many they will cover for each month.
• If you have vision problems, you may want to consider a meter that tells you audibly what your blood sugar reading is.There are also blood sugar meters with big screens and extra buttons that are easier to see if you have problems with your vision.
• An easy to maintain meter guarantees that you always have it ready to use.Talk to your pharmacist for more information about meters that require little maintenance and calibration.This is important because with regular maintenance, you will know that you are obtaining the most precise results when you are measuring your blood sugar levels.
• Information recovery and storage is another important consideration.It is good to monitor its long -term glucose levels.When your meter can store your information, you can return and see how your blood sugar levels have been in the course of a month or more, depending on the storage capacity of your meter.
• Know the size of the blood sample that requires your meter and reactive strips.Some require more or less blood than others.If you have difficulty obtaining a larger sample regularly, consider a meter that requires less blood to provide a precise result.

CONCLUSION
A glucometer is one of the most important tools that a diabetic has in its arsenal.It allows you to evaluate your blood sugar level at any time of the day so you can control your health.The important thing is that you choose one that can easily use andThat you can pay, that way you will always have your glucose meter with you and ready to use.Share this article on social networks and put a link on your website.