drop of blood | Diabetes Healthy Solutions

Diabetic Testers

When a person is taking about diabetic testers they are generally referring to the machines that are used by most diabetics to test the sugar, or glucose, level of their blood. The technical name for the machine is glucometer. Diabetic testers, or glucometers, are rapidly becoming indispensable little machines for a growing number of people since the incidence of diabetes is rapidly rising each and every day.

In order to use diabetic testers the person who wishes to check their blood sugar not only needs the machine, but also alcohol wipes to clean the area, a special type of needle called a lancet to prick the skin, and the proper diabetic test strips for the machine that they will use.

Once the diabetic testing supplies are readied the person places a test strip in the machine, in most cases this automatically turns the machine on, then the person selects a body part, usually a fingertip, and cleans it with the alcohol wipe. After the alcohol is dried the person pricks the area with a lancet in order to obtain a drop of blood which is then placed on the test strip. Diabetic testers read the amount of glucose in the drop of blood and display the blood glucose level, which should be between 80 and 110 for the person to see.

There are many diabetic testers on the market today; most are so small that the machine and all the diabetic testing supplies needed for a whole day will fit in a little case which is easily carried in a pocket or a purse. Those who are looking at different brands of diabetic testers in order to decide which one to purchase should remember two things, more expensive does not always mean better, and the best diabetic tester to but is the one that they understand how to use and will use regularly.

What are Diabetic Testing Machines?

When someone mentions diabetic testing machines the device they are referring to is usually called a glucometer. Diabetic testing machines are designed to read the level of glucose, or sugar, in a drop of blood so that the blood sugar level can be tracked.

The use of diabetic testing machines is pretty simple and straight forward. To use the machine a special test strip is placed in the machine, then a drop of blood is collected by pricking the skin (usually on the finger) with a lancet, the drop of blood is placed on the test strip and the machine “reads” the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Though there is a huge variety of different makes and models of diabetic testing machines on the market, they all work in virtually the same way, some may require a little smaller drop of blood and some may “read” the sugar level quicker than the others, but the basic principal remains the same.