How to Test Your Blood Sugar

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There are two main ways to test your blood sugar level yourself. The finger-stick method involves pricking your finger or other part of your body with a tiny needle to draw a drop of blood. A blood glucose meter then "reads" your blood sugar level and shows the number on its screen. The non-invasive method uses a watch-like device that takes blood sugar readings through your skin.

Finger-stick method

Step 1

Wash your hands with warm water and dry them well with a clean towel. You can also use an alcohol wipe to clean the finger you'll draw blood from.

Hold your hand below your waist for a minute or so. This helps blood pool in the finger, making it easier to get enough blood for the test.

Step 2

After preparing your lancet and glucose meter, have a clean test strip ready. Stick the side of your fingertip with the lancet. Don't stick the tip of your finger. It will hurt more and you may not get enough blood. There are many kinds of lancets and meters. Some draw blood from your forearm. Your lancet and meter may not look like the one in this photo.

Step 3

Put a large drop of blood on the correct spot on the test strip.

Step 4

To get your results, follow the directions that came with your blood sugar meter. Some meters can give results in a few minutes.

Step 5

Write down the results and the time you did the test (some meters will keep track of this information automatically).

Your healthcare provider will use these records to see how well you're managing your blood sugar levels.

Non-invasive Method

One newer blood sugar monitoring device does not draw blood. You wear it on your wrist like a watch, and it takes the reading through your skin. It uses a slight electrical current to pull fluid through the skin and into the machine where it measures the sugar level.

Sugar levels in these fluids lag behind the sugar levels in your blood, so the watch can't replace your regular finger-stick test. But the watch lets you see trends in how your blood sugar changes over the course of the day.

Tips:

• Too much hair can make it difficult to get an accurate reading. If you have lots of hair on your forearms, you should remove the hair before wearing the device.
• Wear the device for a three-hour warm-up before taking a reading. During this time, don't bathe or swim.
• Calibrate the device by entering a blood sugar measurement obtained by the traditional finger-stick method.
• The device will take readings automatically every 20 minutes for up to 12 hours. It can be programmed to sound an alarm if your blood sugar reaches dangerously high or low levels.