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Monitoring Your Diabetes With A New Glucometer

By: Michael Skatoli Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Diabetes comes about when the body fails to convert sugars and other foods into the energy which it needs to function properly. This can result in abnormal sugar concentration in the blood, which can , potentially, be dangerous. Diabetes results from the body's failure to produce, or react normally to, the hormone insulin.

A staggering 7.8% of the United States' population suffers from diabetes - that's 23.6 million men, women and children across the nation. In addition, it is believed that almost 25% of this number are not aware of their condition.

As of yet, there isn't a cure for diabetes, but, thankfully, it is easy to manage with the use of medical insulin. A healthy lifestyle is also a major factor. No smoking, no drinking and healthy eating can all help reduce complications related to the illness.

It is essential that diabetics regularly test their blood sugar levels with a tool called a glucometer. This is a small tool that allows you to test the levels of glucose in your blood and tells you if your blood sugar levels are high, low, or in the right range.

Because of their small size and ease of use, glucometers can be used while you are out and about. Monitoring your blood sugar level with a glucometer involves putting a small sample of blood on a special test strip. Your glucometer should give you an accurate blood sugar reading in just a few moments and you can take the necessary action.

Glucometers most often have a small display that shows the levels of sugar in your blood. Also, they will record the day and time, and save previous results to help you and your doctor monitor your diabetes.

The glucometers themselves are not very pricey. In fact, a lot of manufacturers supply them for free. The glucometer test strips, however, can be costly. They range in cost from around 35 cents to one dollar. Some patients may use over 10 test strips a day, so the costs can soon add up.

When looking for the right glucometer to help you manage your illness there are a a number of factors that you should consider. For example:

* How big is the glucometer?
* How big are the testing strips?
* The cost of the glucometer
* The price of testing strips
* Testing speed
* The quantity of blood required for a test
* The unit's memory and data capabilities
* The quality of the glucometer's display

Frequent blood tests using a glucometer aid in the prevention of a lot of the problems associated with diabetes, such as eye, heart and kidney complications. Keeping tabs on the sugar levels in your blood also helps you find out how effective your medicines are in treating your diabetes, and, most importantly of all, guards against life-threatening emergencies.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: Michael is a columnist with over a dozen years editorial experience. Michael is presently engaged as a reporter with the fuzing.com portal and has become the company expert on diabetes. Be sure to visit our website for additional information on Blood Glucose Meter and Blood Glucose Monitor.