Is fingerstick blood sugar testing accurate?

Some people choose to go to the hospital to measure their blood sugar, but those who often have high blood sugar or are prone to hyperlipidemia will find it very troublesome to go to the hospital frequently to measure their blood sugar. Now there are very simple blood sugar meters on the market, and everyone can measure their blood sugar at home. At this time, people usually prick their fingers to measure blood sugar. So are such measurement results accurate?

Is fingerstick blood sugar testing accurate?

1. Is finger blood glucose measurement accurate?

In order to better measure their blood sugar, many diabetic patients have purchased rapid blood glucose meters. They can measure the level of blood sugar by simply pricking their fingers. However, some people will squeeze the puncture site hard to squeeze out the blood in order to make the blood drip onto the test paper faster. In fact, this method of measuring blood sugar by squeezing the puncture site to draw blood will cause the blood sugar measurement results to be low.

In clinical practice, the blood sugar results of patients who undergo blood sampling by the pricking and squeezing method have always been normal until some cardiovascular complications occur. After going to the hospital for examination, it is discovered that the blood sugar level is much higher than usual. The reason for this situation is that the patient excessively massages and squeezes the needle puncture site during the blood collection process, which not only squeezes out blood, but also squeezes out some skin tissue fluid, diluting the blood sample and causing the blood sugar test result to be low.

2. Steps for measuring blood sugar by finger blood

Step 1: Check whether the blood glucose meter is normal, whether the test strips are expired, and whether the test strip code matches the blood glucose meter (each box of test strips has a code, and the instrument needs to be adjusted according to the test strip code before measurement).

Step 2: Install the lancet into the lancing pen, and then adjust the depth of the lancet according to the thickness of the skin.

Step 3: Wash your hands with warm water or neutral soapy water, and rub the fingers where you are going to draw blood repeatedly until the blood flow is abundant.

Step 4: Disinfect your fingertips with 75% ethanol and wait for them to dry. Turn on the blood glucose meter and insert a test strip into the meter. Keep your fingers away from the test strip test area, and close the cover tightly after taking out the test strip.

Step 5: Place the blood collection pen close to the fingertip, press the spring switch, and prick the fingertip (it is best to draw blood from both sides of the finger because they are rich in blood vessels and have fewer nerve endings. It is not painful and the bleeding is sufficient. Do not squeeze excessively so as not to affect the blood sugar level).

Step 6: Draw blood into the dedicated area of ​​the test strip and wait for the result (do not draw additional blood, otherwise it will affect the accuracy of the result).

Step 7: Press your finger with a cotton swab for 10 seconds until the bleeding stops.

Step 8: After the monitoring value appears, record it in time and shut down the machine. After the test, put the cap back on the lancing pen and dispose of it properly.

3. How to improve the accuracy of finger blood glucose measurement

Blood sugar should be measured on the ring finger, middle finger and little finger. It is not recommended to measure the index finger and thumb. However, doctors recommend that diabetic patients use the blood from their ring finger to measure their blood sugar. Because the ring finger has relatively less activity than the other four fingers, it is not easy to get infected and does not affect daily life. In addition, the capillaries have two branches, one of which is at the end of the ring finger; the other branch is at the ends of the remaining four fingers. Therefore, the ring finger is rich in blood.

Secondly, the fingers have the most blood vessels and the most blood. Moreover, there are fewer nerve endings and it is not easy to produce pain, so blood should be collected from both sides of the finger when measuring finger blood. Sometimes when diabetic patients measure their blood pressure, they like to massage their fingers to ensure sufficient blood flow. However, improper squeezing will cause tissue fluid to be squeezed out and mixed with blood, resulting in low blood sugar levels. The correct way is to let your arm hang down for 10 to 15 seconds before blood collection to allow the fingertips to become congested. After the needle is inserted, gently push the blood vessels on both sides of the fingers to the front third of the fingers to allow the blood to slowly overflow.