Home Blood Glucose Test: How To Prepare

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How To Prepare

Equipment

You can buy home blood glucose testing equipment at a pharmacy and any grocery or discount store that has a pharmacy. You also may be able to buy the testing equipment and supplies through the mail or on the Internet.

The supplies you will need for testing blood glucose include:

• A blood glucose meter.
• Testing strips. These are made to be used with a specific model of meter.
• Sugar control solution. Each meter requires a specific solution. Many new meters are made to operate without a control solution.
• Short needles called lancets for pricking your skin.
• A pen-sized holder for the lancet (lancet device), which positions the lancet and controls how deeply it goes into your skin.
• Clean cotton balls. These are used to stop the bleeding from the testing site.

General instructions

To make sure you get accurate results when you test your blood sugar:

• Check the expiration date on the bottle of testing strips. Do not use test strips that have expired. The test results may not be accurate.
• Match the code number on the testing strips bottle with the number on the meter. If the numbers do not match, follow the directions with the meter for changing the code number.
• Follow the instructions with the meter. All blood glucose meters have detailed instructions for performing the test. Follow these directions exactly.
• Check the accuracy of the meter's results. Use the sugar control solution made by the meter's manufacturer. Follow the directions that came with the meter for proper use of the control solution or compare the results with your latest lab values.

Talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding the need for the test, its risks, how it will be done, or what the results will indicate. To help you understand the importance of this test, fill out the medical test information form (What is a PDF document?) .

Last updated:	July 25, 2007
Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Reviewed By:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Alan C. Dalkin, MD - Endocrinology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer