There are hundreds of different glucometers out there on the market, and hundreds of different brands selling them so it can be overwhelming, especially if you are new to needing them and unsure what is best for you! So what are the key areas you should know about before buying your first glucometer?Jump to Winner of Glucometer Top 10 Rankings!
Size seems to be an important factor for most people who need to be regularly doing a blood sugar test, so it is important that if you are on the move a lot going for a smaller sized glucometer that ideally has a carry case would be the best. Similarly to this it is important that you choose a blood glucose monitor that is travel friendly, so if it has a storage case for the machine, lancets and test strips that is even better!
Surprisingly a lot of glucometers don’t come with a backlight to the screen, which can make it difficult to see if you are not in a particularly lit up room! It can be worthwhile to go for a slightly more expensive blood sugar meter to ensure that it not only lasts a longer time but it is also easy to use no matter where you are.
There is also the major issue of coding your glucometer, these days there are a lot of machines on the market that do not require coding, but for those of you who don’t want to spend as much money, coding is basically the process of calibrating your machine up with the test strips you are using. This needs to be done with each new box of test strips you start, and can be a tedious job! Glucometers that automatically code are a more convenient way of using them.
It is of course important to make sure whatever glucometer you go for it is easy to use! It sounds obvious, but not all devices are user friendly, so it pays to do your research first! Spend a good amount of time looking at the different blood glucose monitors and ensuring the one you pick will be easy to learn.
Finally, speed is another incredibly important factor when using one of these machines, some of the older ones could be quite slow in retrieving the result and there are still some like this out there on the market. Ensuring you pick a glucometer that delivers results straight away will improve your experience and it also makes it more discreet as you won’t need to have it out for a long time waiting for your results!
Whatever the machine is, consider the above vital factors before making your choice, as it will be worthwhile in the long run! A few other final things to consider are memory size, blood sample size, and battery power. So don’t forget to check these stats out on your desired model before making a purchase!
