The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 30 million people in the United States have diabetes. There are numerous tools available to help individuals manage this awful disease. However, the first step in managing diabetes is checking your blood sugar. If you don't know what your blood sugar is, how can you know what you need to do to control it?

Due to the differences in design for all the blood glucose testing product brands, our team at AffordableDiabetic.org always suggest following the specific instructions provided for your blood glucometer and test strips. However, there are general guidelines on how to use diabetic test strips.

Using Diabetic Test Strips

To check your blood glucose level, you:

• Put a test strip into your chosen blood glucose meter
• Prick your fingertip with the meter’s tiny needle - called a lancet
• Squeeze a drop of blood from your finger and touch it with the edge of the test strip
• The blood reacts with a special enzyme on the strip, producing a chemical
• The glucometer uses electricity to measure the levels of that chemical

Within seconds, the meter will give you a blood sugar reading. With this method, there are two ways your blood sugar reading could become inaccurate:

• The test strips do not respond the way they should
• The glucometer is inaccurate

Ensuring that you have high-quality glucose testing supplies is the best way to lower the possibility of an error.

Keep in mind that diabetic test strips can only be used once. Each and every time you check your blood sugar, a new test strip will need to be used. Depending on your unique situation, you may have to check your blood sugar as much as 10 times a day.

Importance of Using Diabetic Test Strips

There’s no denying the fact that diabetic test strips are expensive. Although manufacturers don’t set out to make glucose test strips expensive, their cost can seem prohibitive to some people with diabetes. However, using glucose test strips is the best way to accurately measure your diabetes health. Testing your blood sugar levels can help you maintain good glycemic control. This is associated with better overall health and lower risk of diabetic complications.

To help make diabetes testing supplies more affordable, shop at AffordableDiabetic.org. We offer savings up to 50 %, 30-Day money back guarantees, free shipping, and fast delivery in supplies such as test strips, lancets, pen needles, meters, and more.