Why is home blood glucose testing important?
Home blood sugar (glucose) testing is an essential part of controlling your blood sugar and self-managing your diabetes. Your diabetes educator can guide you in terms of how often to check your blood glucose and how to do it properly. Make sure the diabetes educator watches you use the glucose meter several times. That way, you can be sure you’re doing it correctly. At a minimum, you’ll be checking your blood sugar every morning before you eat. It’s also advisable to check it before lunch and dinner and at bedtime. Blood glucose levels checked with blood taken from the fingertips will show important changes faster than glucose levels checked with blood taken from other sites on the body. The usual way to check your blood sugar level is by: • pricking your fingertip with a lancing tool — a small, sharp needle • putting the blood drop on a test strip • placing the test strip into a glucose meter • reading the blood glucose level displayed on the meter If you take insulin, you might chang
