10 Glucose Meter Features
to Die For Okay, perhaps were exaggerating just a tad bit but there
are some great features available with certain glucose meters that can really
make impact. We've listed 10 great features of particular glucose meters and why
we like them. These features are not in any particular order and how good the
feature is really depends on how it benefits you: 1) Ketone and Glucose
testing - the Optium
Xceed is the only meter we have come across that can test both blood
ketone levels and blood glucose levels. For diabetics the presence of ketones
in the blood stream can be a sign of ketoacidosis. To have a meter that can measure
both ketones and glucose in the same price range as other glucose meters makes
this feature a must have. 2) Safe Lancing System - the Multiclix
Lancing Device has to be one of the safest of all the lancing devices
available. The Multiclix
lancets used for the lancing device are designed to hide the lancing
needle within a drum so that the needle cannot fall into the wrong hands. It brings
a new level of safety to lancets which makes it a must have. The Multiclix
Lancing device is found in the Accu-chek
Aviva and Accu-chek
Nano. 3) Glucometer without Strips - The Accu-chek
Mobile is the first glucometer from Roche not to use test strips. However,
instead this meter uses cassettes. If dexterity is a problem for you or a loved
one then using test strips can be very fiddly. The Accu-chek
Mobile provides an alternative and much easier way to test your blood
glucose, if not novel. 4) Glow in the dark glucose readings - The
Accu-chek
Nano displays readings which can glow in the dark. At first this may
sound like a gimmick of a feature but a glow in the dark glucose readings may
have some uses. It MAY help those that cannot see well with what may come across
as a clearer reading and is very useful for those that need to carry out blood
glucose readings with limited light. Also, from an aesthetic view it looks good.
5) All in one testing - The beauty of Accu-chek
Compact Plus is its simplicity. The glucose meter uses an "all
in one" solution which attempts to take out the fiddling with both lancets
and test strips. The lancing system is attached to the meter and the test
strips are contained within the meter and are made available for testing
when needed. Everything you need is all together. Ideal if you are on the move
or for those that find handling lancing devices and test strips difficult. 6)
Small is beautiful - Imagine a glucose meter so small that it fits on the
cap of your test strips. Well, the True2go
meter and Trueone
meter do just that. They are so small that they can be attached to the cap of
the test strips making them very easy to carry around. If you use the Unistix
Comfort lancets the whole combination of glucose meter, test strips
and lancets barely take up any space. Great if you want a glucose meter whilst
on the move but don't have much space to carry the meter. 7) A glucose
meter with grip - many glucose meters have a smooth surface making it easy
to slide into your pocket but smooth is not ideal for everyone. For some, a smooth
glucose meter makes holding the glucose meter very hard. What can make life a
lot easier is a bit of grip. The Accu-chek
Aviva has thought about this and has a rubber grip all around the outside
of the meter. This makes the meter very easy to hold on to. A simple idea but
very practical. 8) Emergecy Power - The Accu-chek
Aviva has another great feature by adding a back up battery. This means
if you are low on battery the back up battery gives you more time to find a replacement
Aviva
battery. It buys you more time when you may need it the
most. 9) A Great Memory - most meters can store around 200 blood
glucose readings, some up to 500 but 1,865 readings? There is a meter on the market
that can do this. It is called the Wavesense
Jazz. The impressive 1865 test result memory has not been beaten by
any of the big brand meters and allows results to be recorded with both time and
date. This means you can look back through your readings perhaps as far back as
years to see how you have been progressing. 10) Less pain - until
a glucose meter is created which does not need blood, pricking the finger to obtain
a blood sample is the only way a glucose meter can work. The more blood a glucose
meter needs to produce a result the deeper the lancet needs to go into the finger
to produce enough blood. So, theoretically at least, the smaller the blood sample
needed for the glucose meter to obtain a reading, the less painful the test should
be. The Freestyle
lite requires only a 0.3 microliter blood sample size (the world's
smallest sample size), this should mean less needle depth = less pain!! If you
want a glucose meter that should be less painful then its competitors choose the
Freestyle
lite.
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