A simple Glucometer is a medical device that is used to measure the concentration of glucose(Sugar) in the blood and it is mostly used by diabetic and hypoglycemia patients to monitor their blood Glucose level
Frequent glucometer use can help you:
Checking your blood sugar level whether it is high,low or normal.
Recognize situation where you can see spike or crash in you sugar level.
Checking your blood sugar level after exercise ,stress or illness
Monitoring the effect of drugs and other medication or therapies.
Why you should monitor Glucose level?
Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy. Sometimes your body doesn’t make enough—or any—insulin or doesn’t use insulin well. Glucose then stays in your blood and doesn’t reach your cells.
So people suffering from Diabetes, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), or were diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy, a major part of your treatment plan should be regularly testing your blood glucose levels with a glucometer because their health is dependent on the level of glucose in blood and they have to be cautious about it .
Thus, Glucometer helps to check and maintain the correct level for these patients.
How Glucometer really Works?
Simple Working Principle :
Test strips: These strips contain Glucose Oxidase which react with blood(Glucose in it) and form Gluconic Acid and then it reacts with ferricyanide to create ferrocyanide.
After this Device run an Electric current through this sample
This current is then able to read, the ferrocyanide and determine how much glucose is in the sample of blood, on the testing strip. That number is then displayed on the screen of the glucose testing meter.
Test strips are disposed after use.
Glucometer works on the principle of Biosensor:
Analyte or the sample is Blood , Bioreceptor or the sample detector is Glucose Oxidase , The Current flows and the amount of Ferrocyanide tells the concentration of Glucose in the Blood and the No. is displayed on the Screen
Are Glucometers accurate: The answer is No but close to yes because the glucometer reading is close to accurate that is If your blood sugar is 100 mg/dL, your meter could read anywhere between 80 and 120 or if its 200 mg/dL, your meter could read anywhere between 160 and 240.
And if you test two times the reading would differ because your blood sugar level is not always the same all the time and that is why when you test from a lab the result would be different.
Why your Glucometer shows error or wrong reading:
These are the factors that are mostly responsible for wrong reading of your glucometer
Test strip: Damaged or outdated test strips , specific strips are used by specific Glucometer not by any other glucometer
Insert the test strip properly in the Device
Keep them away from heat, moisture and humidity
Temperature: Keep the test strips and Glucometer at room temp and not in heat or cold environment because that also affect the accuracy of the Glucose device.
Dirt or any minute substance in skin : Keep your hands clean or wash and dry them before pricking the skin and it will help giving accurate result
Blood: Properly prick blood and drop on the test strip Only one drop is enough and proper pressure applied while squeeze out drop of the blood and If blood is pricked from any other site the result may vary and amount of blood also determine the result
Coding: Proper coding before use if the Device need manual coding or if its automatic then the results may be more accurate
RBC count: Red Blood Cell count also determine the conc. of Glucose in the Body
Meter Variation: Every Glucometer works differently , Use One Monitoring Device for your use and not two or three devices to check, Stick with one Device.
Time of Test: When are testing the level also affects the result that is before food and after food and other factors but it is also important for a patient to ceck most of the time to keep the level
in control
These are some of the factors that affect the accuracy of Glucometer
The Most Accurate way is to check your results from the meter when you apply for tests in Lab and this may help to check the accuracy of your Device
You may check out this post for buying a Glucometer Buy the Best from the Rest
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