Instructions on How to Set Up a Contour Diabetes Meter

People with diabetes rely on glucose meters to monitor their blood sugar. The Contour blood glucose meter by Bayer Diabetes Care combines ease of use with accurate results in just five seconds. Unlike some glucose meters, the Contour meter does not need to be calibrated each time a new bottle of testing strips is used. Learning to set up and care for your Contour meter is simple. You'll be on your way to better controlled diabetes in no time.

Set Up

• The Contour diabetes meter features a "Basic" as well as an "Advanced" mode. In "Basic" mode, your Contour can display a seven-day "Hi" and "Lo" test results summary, a 14-day average and your 480 most recent test results. In "Advanced" mode, your Contour also displays a seven- and 30-day average, 30 days of pre- and post-meal averages, and personal "Hi" and "Lo" test settings.

  Your Contour glucose meter is preset to "Basic" mode. To set your Contour to "Advanced" mode, press the "M" button and wait for your meter to power on and flash the testing strip icon. Hold the up and down arrow buttons for three seconds, or until the meter displays "L-1." Use the up or down arrow buttons to change the display to "L-2," then press the "M" button to save your changes. To change your Contour meter back to the "Basic" mode, access the settings screen with the "M" button, use the arrow buttons to change the display from "L-2" to "L-1," then press "M" to save your changes and exit the settings screen.

  After you've set your Contour meter to the desired mode you can set the time, date and sound preferences. Use the "M" button to access the settings screen, the up and down arrow buttons to select the correct number values, and the "M" button to save your changes.

Use

• Checking your blood sugar with a Contour blood glucose meter is simple. Before testing your blood sugar, you will need to gather an alcohol swab, a lancet, a testing strip, your meter and an optional lancing device. Clean the side of one of your fingers with the alcohol swab. Puncture your finger with the lancet and gently squeeze your finger until a small drop of blood forms. Insert a testing strip into the bottom of the Contour meter and wait for the blood drop icon to display. Touch your blood drop to the end of the testing strip. Your result should display five seconds later.

Battery Information

• Your Contour diabetes meter is powered by two CR2032 or DL2032 batteries. When your Contour meter displays the low or dead battery icon, it's time to replace the batteries. CR2032 and DL2032 batteries are inexpensive and can be purchased from your local jewelry or retail store. To replace the batteries in your Contour meter, remove the back battery cover, replace the old batteries with the new and replace the battery cover.

Care and Maintenance

• Proper care and maintenance will help ensure that your Contour diabetes meter continues to function at its best. This means keeping your meter clean, dry and out of extreme temperatures. Should your Contour meter need to be cleaned, wipe it with a soft cloth that has been dampened in a solution of mild soap and water. Do not allow your Contour glucose meter to be immersed in water. Should immersion occur, take the batteries out of your meter and dry it thoroughly before replacing the batteries.

  Every few months you should run a control solution test on your Contour diabetes meter to ensure that your testing strips and meter are working properly. A bottle of Bayer control solution has been included with your Contour meter. Before performing a control solution test, gently shake the bottle of control solution to ensure it is mixed properly. Insert a testing strip in your Contour meter, wait for the blood drop icon to flash, then apply a drop of control solution to the end of the testing strip. When the meter gives you the result five minutes later, compare it to the control range numbers on the testing strip bottle.