How to measure blood sugar more accurately?

There are many blood sugar measuring instruments on the market now, and many families will buy such blood sugar measuring instruments, especially those with elderly people at home. It is important to monitor the blood sugar levels of the elderly regularly, so that they can adjust their diet and daily routine according to the blood sugar levels. However, I would like to remind everyone that there are many precautions in measuring blood sugar. If you want to measure more accurately, you must follow the following principles.

How to measure blood sugar more accurately?

First point: blood should drip naturally onto the wipe

First, you have to wait until the blood-dropping sign appears on the blood glucose meter before you can draw blood, otherwise the result will not be displayed; secondly, after drawing blood, gently drop the blood onto the test paper, and do not apply it directly with your fingers, because the oil on your hands will affect the correct reading of the blood glucose meter.

Once blood has dripped onto the test strip, do not smear or drip more blood onto it. When holding the test strip, do not touch the blood collection area with your fingers. The amount of blood collected will also affect the result. The test strip must be fully absorbed by the blood at one time. An appropriate amount of blood should be collected at one time. Excessive or insufficient blood will affect the result.

If the blood glucose meter requires you to wipe off excess blood on the bottom paper, you must use a designated wipe (such as a cotton ball or a sterilized cotton swab). Be careful not to let the cotton fibers on the cotton ball fall into the test strip detection area to avoid low blood glucose readings.

Second point: blood sampling and blood sugar testing time should be on time

The time of blood collection also affects the results. For example, fasting blood sugar refers to the blood sugar measured when a person is asleep without eating or taking any medicine for more than 8 hours, and it must be measured before 9 a.m. If you stay up late but do not eat, it cannot be called fasting blood sugar. Two-hour post-meal blood sugar refers to the two hours from the time you take the first bite of food. The test time should be 15 minutes before or after this time point. Testing too early or too late will affect the results.

For elderly people with unstable blood sugar, special attention should be paid to blood sugar at two o'clock in the night, because human blood sugar is the lowest at this time. For patients taking medication, hypoglycemia is most likely to occur at this time. Once nocturnal hypoglycemia is found, it is necessary to communicate with the doctor in time and hospitalize if necessary. The results of two blood draws from the same person may also be inconsistent. The first time, the patient becomes nervous due to the pain, which increases the secretion of adrenaline and norepinephrine, causing an instantaneous increase in blood sugar in the second time, resulting in a difference.

Third point: Clean the blood glucose meter regularly

To ensure that the blood glucose meter works normally and accurately, it should be calibrated regularly with the standard glucose solution provided by the manufacturer. If the blood glucose meter can be cleaned, it is best to clean it regularly to remove accumulated blood, dust, or cotton ball lint.

When using a blood glucose meter that requires coding, make sure the code is consistent with the test strip code. Before testing, check and adjust the code displayed on the blood glucose meter to be consistent with the code on the test strip packaging box. Before use, you should pay attention to the shelf life of the test paper and whether there is any color change on the test paper. In addition, when storing reagents, care should be taken to avoid light, and the blood glucose meter should be calibrated before each new batch of test strips is used.