How Do You Prepare for Blood Glucose Testing?

I hadn't planned on revisiting this topic so soon, but a discovery made it almost mandatory. Apparently, there is a lot of disagreement about how to clean you hands before blood glucose testing. The following facts from Discuss Diabetes have me in a more than a little concerned.

 

This is just one of many polls that appear on the site. My concern is for those people that use the last two methods before testing and need to wonder why they are not concerned about the accuracy of their testing. I have had the hospital nurses use the hand-sanitizer when in the hospital and unable to get out of bed to use the bathroom, but they always used the alcohol pad for the finger they were going to use. All but one of the nurses used the second drop of blood. This meant that they wiped the first drop off with a cotton swab and used the second drop.

I am concerned about those that use the alcohol swab, but only for those that may have been processing or handling cut up fruit before testing. Well, I am also concerned about those in the winter climates that may have their fingers dry out and crack by using the alcohol swabs. The first will cause higher readings on the meter and if they are injecting insulin, they may inject too much insulin causing hypoglycemia. The second will make testing quite painful.

I have written about the above paragraph here and there is a good article on the same topic when dealing with fruit here. Please find it in your heart to read and follow the correct method for cleaning your hands before testing.

Yes, that is the first method in the poll above. This is important and most test strips have this in the instructions packaged in the box holding the test strip container of test strips. Wash your hands with warm water and soap and pay particular attention to the finger to be used for testing. Rinse and dry your hands thoroughly because your do not want to handle the test strips with wet fingers and waste test strips.

Take time to read the instruction with your test strips please. I see more people with diabetes misusing their test strips and not carrying them in the container they came in. You cannot get accurate readings from mishandled test strips.