Monitoring blood sugar levels is important for diabetes care. It helps you figure out what activities or foods cause blood sugar levels to rise. It helps prevent your diabetes from reaching dangerous levels. There are different ways to track blood sugar, but most diabetes tests require a trip to the lab. Diabetes machines are an excellent way to track blood sugar at home.

What is it?

Also called glucometers, they have become an essential component of diabetes patients' lives. These are small, portable machines that measure your blood sugar level in real-time using a drop of blood with glucometer strips. These strips have chemicals that emit electric signals when blood comes in touch with them. You get numerical results within seconds.

Who must use it?

If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes during pregnancy, regularly monitor your blood sugar levels with a proper glucometer. This is the most important aspect of the treatment plan.

Usage of the machine helps:

• Controlling blood sugar levels and determining if they are high or low.
• Observing how sugar levels respond after a person exercises or when they get stressed.
• Identifying trends in sugar levels when there is an increase or decrease.
• Assessing a person's ability to achieve their treatment objectives.
• Controlling the side effects of anti-diabetic medications and other treatments.

When to use them?

Double-check with the concerned healthcare practitioner about the test's frequency, when needed, and what to do if the findings are high or low. The frequency of tests depends on the patient's diabetes type and treatment strategy.

Type 1

If you have type 1 diabetes, tests your blood sugar levels four to 10 times a day. Test before and after eating, exercising, and going to bed. Type 1 diabetes is the inability to produce adequate insulin. Hence, check more frequently to ensure you have enough insulin to keep your blood sugar within limits.

Type 2

Type 2 diabetes or gestational patients must test themselves two to three times a day, depending on whether insulin gets used. In most cases, you can get the test done before medication. Monitor your blood sugar level anywhere and anytime with portable diabetes machines. To use them efficiently, follow the directions in the user handbook that comes with the equipment.

To get started with a blood test machine, you need the machine, a test strip, lancing device, lancet, and the alcohol pad.