We all have guilty pleasures when talking about our favorite food and beverages. Sweets and sugar are almost impossible to resist. While our body needs to break down sugar for energy, too much of a good thing is never good.
And most of us indeed have too much. Diabetes and obesity are steadily on the rise, and as our diets become more unhealthy, it is more important to know about our the status of our health.
Whether it’s just a precaution or if you’re managing some form of diabetes, the blessings of modern-day science and technology have greatly influenced us. There’s no sure way of knowing your blood sugar levels other than to quantitatively measure it, and nowadays, doing it at home using the best glucose meter have never been easier. They are easily and widely available in most pharmacies and drug stores, and they’re pretty much hassle-free and very easy to use.
If you’re planning to invest in a glucometer, here are 3 tips that may help you:
1. Always go for branded meters than generic ones.
Do not hesitate to spend a few extra cash on a glucometer made by a reputable, top-tier pharmaceutical company than going for cheap generic ones. When it comes to your health, don’t be stingy to the point of neglect and carelessness. Sure, a meter from Roche, Abbott, Bayer, or Johnson may be much more expensive than from brands you’ve never heard of, but remember, you are also paying for quality, years of expertise, and hundreds of hours of a tedious manufacturing process to create a high-quality meter. Buying a branded meter made by reputable manufacturers ensure that standards have been carefully complied with, and reliability, accuracy, and margin of errors are within specified limits. You also get priority 24/7 support with branded products in case of defects and other issues, something that you simply can’t get with generic meters.
2. Look for modern features.
We are already in the post-modern era. As everything gets smarter than ever, so should our medical apparatus as well. Some modern add-ons include painless lancing devices that make it so easy and virtually pain-free to extract blood for testing. These lancers also have adjustable depth settings to adjust to different skin types. Other modern features include interfacing with a PC, and through the use of proprietary software, you have a general overview of all your results. Another feature that’s trending in glucometers is the ability to wirelessly connect with a smartphone for data logging and sharing to doctors and family members.
3. Opt for convenient blood collection methods.
Every blood glucose test doesn’t have to end up with a lot of pain and repeat trials. Look for meters that can literally accept just a microliter of blood and scan it without needing to add more drops. Also look for meters which allow you to immediately rectify in case you wrongly applied blood to a test strip. Some meters even allow you to drop blood on a test strip before the strip is even inserted to the device. This will enable you to collect a sample much easier and faster.