Alcohol may affect readings

For people with diabetes, self-monitoring of blood sugar is an important part of disease control. Recently, the US "Health Day" website summarized some precautions when measuring blood sugar to help people with diabetes improve accuracy.

 

1. Wash your hands with soapy water before testing. David Simmons, chief medical officer of the Diabetes Care Center in Tarrytown, New York, USA, reminded that self-testing blood sugar is equivalent to conducting a small blood biochemical test on a test strip, and any "contamination" may interfere with the results. Before testing, it is best to wash your hands with soapy water, rinse repeatedly, and make sure your fingers are completely dry.

 

2. Make sure there is no alcohol or disinfectant residue. Many patients don't realize that alcohol can also affect blood sugar readings. Therefore, make sure there is no residue on your fingers after applying it with an alcohol swab or other disinfectant. Before collecting blood, make sure your hands are completely dry or wipe them clean with sterilized gauze.

 

3. Calibrate the blood glucose meter regularly. No matter how good the instrument is, it must be calibrated frequently to ensure the accuracy of the results. Therefore, it is best to recalibrate every time a new box of test strips is opened, the test results suddenly go "off", or the blood glucose meter is accidentally dropped or bumped.

 

4. Don’t leave the blood glucose meter and test strips casually. Many people know that insulin should not be misplaced, but they are careless about blood glucose meters. In fact, this small instrument is also a miniature laboratory and needs to be stored according to the conditions specified in the instructions. Direct sunlight, too high or too low temperature, too humid bathroom, etc. are not suitable for long-term storage.

 

5. Pay attention to the validity period. In order to save money, many sugar lovers will ignore this point. As time goes by, test strips will gradually degrade, and "expired" results should not be taken lightly.