Blood Glucose Meter
A blood glucose meter allows a diabetic to know what his/her blood sugar level is; this is essential before any reduction in blood sugar can be achieved. To test your blood sugar, a lancet is used to prick your finger to get some blood on a glucose test strip to be inserted into a blood glucose meter (electronic nowadays) which will determine the concentration of glucose in your blood. Just as a lost person cannot find his way home without knowing where he is to begin with, you cannot lower blood sugar level without accurate measurement.
Because there are so many different blood glucose meter out on the market, people with diabetes mellitus tend to be swamped with choices: they don't know which blood glucose meter is suitable for them. Some experiment around before settling on one; some owns more than one meter that they're comfortable with. Suffice to say that although buying a blood glucose meter is a very personal decision, it's important to get the correct one not only because of accuracy, but also because the blood glucose meter will be used so frequently to monitor blood sugar that overcomplicated and inconvenient blood glucose meter will inevitably lead to less monitoring and subsequently poor blood sugar control. The following will explain what to look out for when choosing a blood glucose meter:
Size
Too small a blood glucose meter and you may misplace and lose it; too big and it becomes to cumbersome, so it's important to make sure that you're comfortable with the size of the blood glucose meter. Nowadays most blood glucose meter are the size of the palm ensuring easy handling.
Blood Glucose Level Reading Time
Typically between 5 to 30 seconds, although for some blood glucose meter you have to wait as long as 60 seconds. Shouldn't be a problem for most diabetics.
Volume Of Blood Needed
As can be deduced, if the amount of blood required is too much before accurate reading is produced, the diabetic may feel disheartened because of multiple failures. Therefore it is probably better to go for a blood glucose meter that only requires less than 0.5 microliters of blood (just a smear on the test strip).
Test Strips
The glucose in the blood will react with the chemicals on the test strip, which then form the basis for the blood glucose meter measurement. Sometimes you have to make sure that your blood glucose meter is calibrated to the test strips so that there are no errors.
Display Window
A small window that lets you know your blood sugar level once it is measured by the blood glucose meter. Yours may display different measurement units depending on your country (for example miligram per deciliter or milimoles per liter, so make sure you're using the correct unit to avoid being deceived into making the wrong move.
Memory/ Clock
Many modern blood glucose meter now incorporate internal clock and memory which holds a record of the readings over a period of time, which will help immensely when the physician/ diabetic nurse is trying to work out how good the diabetic control is and how to improve the blood sugar level. More advanced blood glucose meter have superior data transfer capabilities, allowing the diabetic management team to access the data seamlessly.
Price
The majority of the cost you will pay for monitoring your blood sugar level will go towards the test strips: they range from $0.30 to $1.10 per strip, so if you test your own blood sugar 4 times a day (not uncommon), you would have to pay between $1.20 and $4.40. In fact, it's so profitable that manufacturers are willing to subsidise the cost of the blood glucose meter itself by giving it away for free.
Conclusion
Proper treatment of diabetes mellitus starts from regular blood glucose monitoring, which necessitates the use of blood glucose meter. There are a lot of factors to consider in choosing a blood glucose meter, but most importantly it must allow you to confidently and comfortably monitor your own blood sugar level. If you somehow do not like using your blood glucose meter because of size or frequent failures or cost, then everything else will be futile in controlling your diabetes... it's just like shooting in the dark.