Important Things About Free Glucose Meters

When you need to measure the levels of sugar or glucose in your blood what you need is a glucometer, also called the glucose meter. Up to 8 percent of all Americans suffer from diabetes, making it a rather common condition. You might want to take a look at your glucose levels - and on regular/daily intervals too - if you happen to be one of such folks. It is here that the blood glucose meter becomes very handy.

Mostly, diabetes is an inherited trait, although it is also one that is contactable from horrid eating habits. The incidence of the ailment may also depend somewhat on stress and lack of exercise. Sufferers of this disease are usually required to take insulin injections in order to keep the blood sugar level within acceptable limits. It is not uncommon to have patients who fail to maintain the levels of sugar in their blood suffer major health snags from time to time. This is the kind of condition that would teach you that glucose levels in the blood can alter rather inadvertently, which sort of makes it a silent killer.

Using a glucose meter is fairly simple and the reading can usually be obtained within seconds. This is how you take a reading:

Pricking a finger by means of a lancet (a pointer metal piece) in order to get a very small amount of blood.

A test strip is provided on which you should 'place' the drop of blood.

Inserting the test strip into the meter.

Reading the display on the meter.

For those who take insulin injections, it is generally recommended to measure the glucose level before eating and also before going to sleep.

Not everyone is excited about drawing their own blood to take a blood glucose meter reading. The fear of pain of the seeing blood keeps away some people from using the device. Interestingly, only very little blood is involved at all in the testing process. One could regulate lancet so that it does not pierce too deep into the skin. Apart from that, you can draw blood from various parts of the body, so you can be completely sure not to cause any kind of scarring to any particular are of the skin.

Glucose meters used to be made bulky back in the day, and expensive too, only to be found in hospitals. You could get a glucose meter on the house nowadays, or else you would get it at a bargain price. When they are free, the meters would often come with lancets and strips to last you a few days. You could get your own free glucose meter as well from Quality Health's Diabetes One Touch Meter. When applying for a free blood glucose meter, make sure that you fill in all the information in the online form and that the information submitted is correct.