5 Essential Tips When Choosing a Free Glucose Meter
Introduction
Blood glucose meters refer to devices that are used for monitoring blood sugar levels of diabetic patients from home or work. Most people confuse blood glucose meters with fancy digital devices because of their size and design. They are however useful medical gadgets used by diabetic patients. A typical blood glucose meter comes with lancets and test strips. Lancets are used for poking finger/s while test strips are used for placing blood drops before using the glucose meter to get blood sugar level readings.
Blood glucose meters can be sold or they can be given away for free. Blood glucose meters on sale range between $20 and $70. Free glucose meters as the name suggests are given away for free. Free meters are offered by companies that can afford to give them away because they can still make money selling glucose meter accessories i.e. glucose strips which cost approximately $1 per strip. Diabetic patients check blood sugar levels approximately 3 times a day thus companies which offer free glucose meters bank on such customer spending which is profitable in the long term.
Customers should therefore make sure that they get good glucose meters even if it they are being offered for free because they will pay for them indirectly when buying glucose strips. Many diabetic patients with health insurance cover may sometimes be required to select glucose meter from a few recommended meters. If you have a number of free glucose meters to choose from, you must consider the following 5 things before choosing a suitable free glucose meter.
1. Multisite Glucose Meter
2. Quick results
3. Size
4. Usability
5. Memory
1. Multisite Glucose Meter
When choosing a meter that is available for free, you should consider choosing a glucose meter that is multisite which means that you can choose where to prick yourself. Most free meters only allow users to prick fingers thus you should go for one that can also allow you to prick your thigh, forearm, upper arm, calf or any other fleshy part of your hand or leg.
2. Quick results
You should also consider free meters that give quick fast i.e. within a few seconds. Fast results are important especially for patients who suffer from hypoglycemia because if blood sugar levels are reach dangerous levels, hypoglycemia patients need to know as soon as possible in order to counteract the low levels by adopting sugar diets immediately. Failure to do so can cause severe health conditions or even lead to death. In summary, the fact that glucose meters are being offered for free should not mean that patients should compromise on the speed at which they offer results.
3. Size
The size of glucose meters should also be considered even if they are being offered for free. A glucose meter should ideally fit into any clothing pockets without appearing clumsy. There are many glucose meters that have ideal sizes today compared to the past. It is therefore easy to find small meters even those offered for free that will perfectly fit into your pockets or purse. A small glucose meter should fit in the purse or pocket because it will be readily available to you when you need it. It is however important to note that a glucose meter that is too small may not have an ideal screen especially if you have sight problems. It is therefore advisable to choose wisely with the overall size and screen size in mind.
4. Usability
You should also consider choosing a glucose meter that is easy to use even if you are getting it for free. Because most of the time you might be required to check your blood sugar levels under conditions that are not ideal i.e. on a moving car/bus, under dim light e.t.c., it’s important to choose a free glucose meter that you can master using easily i.e. consider choosing a free meter that allows you to feed strips from an internal disc or drum.
5. Memory
Lastly, you should also consider choosing a free monitor that has a substantial memory capacity. For instance, some glucose meters keep a memory of 10 previous glucose level tests while others can record as much as 500 tests. You should consider getting one that can record at least a week’s readings to allow enough reference which may come in handy when going for medical checks.