You will find blood glucose monitors at any pharmacy: these are small devices the size of a pack of cigarettes or a mobile phone that are meant for people with insulin-related health conditions, for them to be able to use at home to measure their blood sugar whenever they need. At first glance, you could probably take one of these devices for some kind of portable entertainment gadget - a new kind of video player or something. Look closer though, and you'll find that they come with things that would really be unwelcome accessories if they went along with an iPod - lancets to draw blood from your finger and test strips the drop of blood drawn can be placed on for it can be inserted into the machine for testing.
There are dozens of brands that line the store shelves. You can expect to pay anything under $100 for one of these. Why, some doctors even give them away for free. They can afford to give you these for free because these are devices that can only run with test strips that they sell you after the fact. And they can hope for years of sales (and gouging profits) on those test strips. How do you make a choice in blood glucose monitors when you set out to buy one of these?
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that you need to find a brand and model that offers you the kind of test strips that you can afford. The typical price for a strip is one dollar each. If you test yourself as often as they ask you, you could easily spend $100 each month. Choose a model that charges you the least for these strips, and you'll find yourself far ahead of the game. Sometimes, you don't ever have to do any work choosing one of these. Your insurance plan will have a list of approved blood glucose monitors. You'll have to buy one among them to take advantage of the cover provided. If you were to buy one of these on your own without insurance cover, how would you choose one?
One of the greatest sources of misery in blood glucose monitors comes from having to prick your skin all the time for the test. Having to do that on the same part of your body can lead to a truly terrible situation. What can you do if you need to prick your fingers three times a day? Pretty soon, you'll have fingers that are all blood and gore. Save yourself the hell that some models put you through, and pick one that allows you to prick yourself anywhere on your body. You can also look for one that works with a very small blood sample. That way, the lancet won't go that deep into your skin.
There are some models by well-known manufacturers that feature fast testing times. When you suffer from hypoglycemia and you need sometimes to see if you need to ingest a little glucose quickly to correct a situation, messing around with a device that takes its time can be disappointing.
Shaminku loves to write interesting health and beauty articles on Diabetes Glucose Meter and the like. Be sure to drop by our site at http://www.HealthInfoOnline.net to learn more about health and fitness.
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