Various ways of DIABETES TESTING

This article on DIABETES TESTING is from www.webmd.com

Everyone with DIABETES should TEST their blood sugar, or glucose, levels regularly. Knowing your blood sugar levels allows you to alter your diabetes management strategy if your levels aren't near your target blood sugar.

Also, regular TESTING of your blood sugar can help reduce your risk of having long-term complications from DIABETES. Based on studies of people with type 1 diabetes (Diabetes Control and Complications Trial [DCCT]) and type 2 diabetes (United Kingdom Prevention of Diabetes [UKPDS]), maintaining near normal blood sugar and HbA1c levels significantly reduces the risks of complications from diabetes.

Ways to Test Your Blood Sugar With Diabetes

    Traditional Home Blood Sugar Monitoring. The traditional method of testing your blood sugar involves pricking your finger with a lancet (a small, sharp needle), putting a drop of blood on a test strip and then placing the strip into a meter that displays your blood sugar level. Meters vary in features, readability (with larger displays or spoken instructions for the visually impaired), portability, speed, size, and cost. Current devices provide results in less than 15 seconds and can store this information for future use. These meters can also calculate an average blood sugar level over a period of time. Some meters also feature software kits that retrieve information from the meter and display graphs and charts of your past test results. Blood sugar meters and strips are available at your local pharmacy.

    Meters That Test Alternative Sites. Newer meters allow you to test sites other than your fingertip; these alternative testing sites include upper arm, forearm, base of the thumb, and thigh. However, testing at alternative sites may give you results that are different from the blood sugar levels obtained from the fingertip. Blood sugar levels in the fingertips show changes more quickly than those in alternative testing sites. This is especially true when your blood sugar is rapidly changing, like after a meal or after exercise. It is also important to know that if you are checking your sugar at an alternative site while you are experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia, you should not rely on these test results.

    Lasers to draw blood. In 1998, a laser to draw blood was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The laser device produces a precise beam of light that penetrates the skin on the finger instead of pricking it, reducing pain and discomfort.

    MiniMed Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. This device involves a small plastic catheter (very small tube) that is inserted just under the skin. It collects small amounts of fluid and measures the sugar content over 72 hours.

    GlucoWatch. In 2001, the FDA approved the GlucoWatch, a watch-like device that helps people with diabetes measure their blood sugar via tiny electric currents. It draws small amounts of fluid from the skin and measures blood sugar levels three times per hour for up to 12 hours. The GlucoWatch is considered a first step toward noninvasive, continuous sugar monitoring, but it does have some shortfalls.

According to the FDA, these newer devices should not replace the traditional daily finger pricks. SOURCE