Most diabetics are worried about not having a large enough sample when testing their glucose levels, receiving an error message, and wasting one of the valuable and expensive strips. What you may not know is that you can also have too much blood on your test strip. Test strips will take up the correct amount of blood, but you don’t want blood covering the end of the strip.

Each test strip manufacturer has a recommended amount of blood needed for their brand of test strips. An over abundance of blood will result in an error message or inaccurate results. Inaccurate readings can also occur if you scrape the test strip over your finger or otherwise have the test strip contact anything other than the blood sample. Fingers that are damp or sticky can throw off readings.

There are very definite guidelines when using test strips to avoid inaccurate readings. You should wash and dry your hands thoroughly each time before you test. A variety of contaminants can be found on the hands, even if they don’t appear dirty.

Hard squeezing of your finger to obtain enough blood shouldn’t be done. People with poor circulation are more apt to do this, as their hands are cold and blood may not flow as freely. Warm your hands before pricking the site for a blood sample.

Blood glucose manufacturers recommend that you use an alcohol wipe to sterilize the testing site. However, many in the medical community are now advising against doing so as it can result in a reading that’s too low.

For decades, individuals have been directed to prick a finger for their blood sample. However, there are more nerve endings in your fingers and many in the medical community are recommending that you use other sites and to change the test site in a regular sequence. Using expired test strips will also result in inaccurate readings.

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