Methods Of Testing Blood Sugar Levels
Listed below are the various methods that can be used to test the sugar levels in your blood. They use different approaches, but these diabetes testing methods perform one and the same thing. Which is best for you is really just a case of personal preference.
1. Blood sugar monitoring at home. This method is the most common. It involves pricking your finger with a sharp needle (professionally designed for this purpose). Having done this, you then need to squeeze some blood from your finger on to a testing strip. This test strip will then be placed into a meter which will in turn determine your blood sugar level.
2. Alternative meter test kits. Over the years, meters which allow you to test blood taken from various parts of your body, not just your finger tip, have been developed; possible parts to test include: the base of your thumb, your thighs and your forearms. Despite these additional options drawing blood from your finger tips remains the most used. This is simply because the blood sugar levels in your finger tips, show changes way quicker than any other part of the body.
3. Drawing blood through laser. In the late 90s, the Food And Drug (FDA) administration approved a meter laser device capable of extracting blood through a precise laser beam on a finger. The development of the device was a result of the widespread complaints about the pain and inpractibility of existing methods. For those who are not at ease with piercing their skin with a needle, this is an ideal solution.
4. The continuous glucose monitoring system. This device involves a very small tube which is inserted under your skin. Over the course of 72 hours, at which time the tube needs to be replaced, the device collects samples from you and measures the blood sugar levels in them. It’s an underused system but should be considered by those who forget or don’t always have time to take blood samples themselves.
5. ‘Gluco Watch’ device. The FDA approved the Gluco Watch, which is device that is like a watch, in 2001. This watch-like meter helps you to measure your blood sugar levels three times per hour over a 12 hour period. This is one of the first diabetes testing meter that that is really non invasive.