You may have heard that advances with some blood glucose meters allow you to consider performing blood glucose tests on other parts of your body, such as the palm, forearm, upper arm, thigh or calf. Because the skin of these parts of your body contains fewer nerves, testing can be more comfortable.
It's important to know that while blood from your fingertip can be tested at any time, there are times when testing from alternate sites is not ideal. That's why you should get the facts about alternate site testing and talk with your doctor before deciding if it's right for you.
For example:
• Compared to your fingertip, you may see differences in blood sugar results from the palm, forearm, upper arm, thigh or calf.
• Blood taken from the fingertip shows changes in blood sugar levels more quickly than blood taken from other sites of the body.
• These differences in blood sugar test results occur because the fingertips have more blood vessels than other sites.
Therefore, alternate site testing is recommended when blood sugar is stable, such as:
• immediately before a meal
• when fasting
• near bedtime
Times when alternate site testing is not recommended:
• in the two hours following a meal, when blood sugar values are rising quickly
• after exercise
• when you are ill
• whenever you think your blood sugar is extremely low or falling quickly (hypoglycemia)
• if you have a history of not noticing when you have low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• during the peak action time of basal insulin
• up to two hours after injecting rapid-acting insulin
Please note: Never ignore the symptoms of low or high blood sugar.
• If your blood sugar test result does not match the way you feel, perform a fingertip test to confirm the result. If the fingertip result still does not seem to reflect the way you feel, contact your doctor.
• Do not base your treatment decisions based on just one test result. Reconfirm any questionable results by repeating the test, and be sure to run the controls as well.
• Your success in receiving an adequate drop of blood from alternate sites may vary. Depending on the meter you choose, you may want to try different approved sites until you find one that works for you. Once you choose a site, stick with it. Don't perform one test on your calf and the next on your forearm. If you test on the forearm, always test on the forearm. The only exception should be fingertip tests.
• Please talk to your doctor before using sites other than your fingertip for testing blood sugar.
* Get the facts about alternate site testing and talk with your doctor before deciding if it's right for you.
