How To Select a blood glucose monitor

In general, there is no good or bad blood glucose monitor. The choice is dependent on a number of factors which include:

Cost: There are many blood glucose monitors. Today, almost every medical supply company has discounts, sells, rebates and trade INS and thus, these devices are affordable by most diabetic individuals. However, the cost is usually comes with the supplies that go with the monitor. There are some insurance companies which do offer some type of medical coverage for the monitor and supplies. Presently Medicare does cover all the costs that can occur with blood glucose monitoring

User friendly: Some blood glucose devices are a lot easier to use than others. The later models only require a tiny blood sample which means that blood can be obtained with a minor skin prick (also less painful). Some also come with a large LCD screen which is useful for people with visual impairment.

Multisite devices are more versatile and allow you to prick your self on other parts of the body rather than the finger tip alone.

Size: For those of you do not like to carry large bags or purses, there are some smaller models which can fit into your pocket

Time: Some blood glucose monitors give you the results in as little as 5-10 seconds and others take about a minute.

Accuracy: All glucose monitors require a drop of blood to be applied on a special strip of paper. While this sounds like a simple concept, the older machines required careful preparation and often were not accurate even if there was only a minor error. The newer automatic machines are more accurate, reliable and do eliminate the errors caused by preparation of the blood sample.

Software: The latest devices have now programmable features like time, date, memory and storage capacity. With a Zip Drive one can download the data from the monitors and add it to the PC. This is important for individuals who have very labile diabetes and require constant adjustment of insulin doses.

If you are not sure what machine is best for you, talk to your health care professional.

For more on blood glucose monitors, please visit www.medexsupply.com. Medexsupply carries a wide range of diabetic supplies including blood glucose monitors (ONE TOUCH Life Scan, Accu-Chek, Ascensia, Prestige), kits, lancets, infusion sets, test strips and glucose tablets.