How to Test Your Blood Sugar at Home
Things You'll Need
- Lancets
- Blood sugar meter (blood glucose meter)
- Testing strips (compatible with the meter)
- Cotton balls
Instructions
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1
Wash your hand thoroughly with warm water and soap. Dry your hands with a clean towel.
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2
Turn on your blood sugar meter and prepare it for testing.
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3
Remove a testing strip from the bottle and tightly close the bottle to keep moisture from contaminating the remaining strips.
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4
Gently stick the side of your fingertip with a lancet. Any fingertip will be sufficient.
If you are uncomfortable sticking yourself with a lancet, consider purchasing a lancet device, a pen-like application tool that holds the lancet and controls its puncture depth.
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5
Put a drop of blood on the appropriate place on the testing strip, covering the area completely.
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6
Apply pressure to your fingertip with a cotton ball to stop the bleeding.
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7
Insert the testing strip into the meter and wait for the results. Most devices deliver results within seconds.
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8
Record your results to discuss them with your physician. If you are having trouble keeping good records, you can use several blood glucose monitors that come with software to automatically chart blood sugar test data.
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