Instructions on how to test capillary blood sugar at home

The article was written by Specialist Doctor I Tran Thi Thu Ha - Obstetrics Department - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder that tends to increase rapidly in the world as well as in Vietnam. There are many different methods of monitoring and treating the disease, in which the capillary blood sugar test is a very simple technique that is easy to apply and can be tested by the patient at home.

However, this technique requires following some basic procedures. If the procedure is not done correctly, the results of the capillary blood sugar test will be inaccurate, greatly affecting the treatment process.
Step 1: Wash your hands with warm water and pat dry, making sure your hands are warm. If cold hands constrict the blood vessels, this makes it more difficult to prick the fingertip and increases pain.

Step 2: Insert the needle into the blood injection pen, adjust the depth depending on the thickness of the patient's skin.
Step 3: Take the test strip out of the box (close the lid immediately).
Step 4: Put the test strip into the machine to let the machine start automatically or turn on the blood sugar tester, compare the code displayed on the machine to match the code of the test strip (if not, correct it).
Step 5: Gently swipe to collect blood from the base of the finger to the tip of the finger, put the tip of the pen to the outer edge of the tip of the finger and press the pen to prick the blood, gently squeeze to get enough drops of blood (depending on the type of device, take a small amount). or a lot of blood). Poke one finger. Avoid using your index finger or thumb as this can hurt more and don't poke the middle, or too close to the nail, as this can really hurt.
Step 6: Absorb blood into the test paper and then plug it into the machine, or place it next to the test strip to absorb blood (depending on the type of blood collection machine outside or the type of capillary).
Step 7: Wipe off the blood with dry cotton.
Step 8: Wait for the machine to show the results (from 5 to 45 seconds).
Step 9: Log your results, clean tools as directed.
Here are the recommended levels from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for your convenience to compare your measurements: