Self-Monitoring Glucometers: Test Blood Sugar Levels at Home Easily

Health management is a big topic these days, as the medical costs are sky rocketing people are trying to keep in the best shape to avoid major medical expenses. However, after an age or due to certain issues, some things are unavoidable like high blood sugar levels. People with diabetes are quite common these days and they need to keep control of what they eat and how much glucose they are consuming. If the blood sugar level shoots up, it can cause severe problems like kidney failure, eye damage, nerve damage, stroke, etc. Therefore, it is important to make sure that blood sugar levels are always controlled and below a certain level. And this can be tracked regularly using a glucometer.

What is a glucometer?

Glucometers are small and handy devices that are used to detect the blood sugar levels in the blood. This is done by collecting some blood from the finger by pricking with a small pin availed. Then the blood is applied to the glucometer strip, which has a certain amount of chemicals in it. The chemicals then react with blood and send electrical signals through the sample to detect the sugar levels. Finally, the numerical data on blood sugar levels are shown on the LCD screen of the glucometer.

Features of glucometer

A good glucometer is simple to use and easy to understand. As most of the glucometers are for self-care purposes, the devices are designed with fewer features but effective ones. When it comes to digital glucometers there are simple ones that only combine LCD screen, power source like battery and internal memory. Also in advanced devices, one can find Bluetooth technology and connectivity to smartphone apps. Also in some of the advanced models, there is a voice technology that will tell the exact reading.

Other than all these features, the two most important components of a glucometer is the lancet and strips for testing the blood sugar. Needles are spring-loaded and have varied gauge size (smaller gauge size means larger size of the hole). And the next is the test strip which plays the most crucial role in giving the exact test results. These strips are imbibed with chemicals that help in sugar level detection. These are one-time use strips and you will have to buy them, keeping in mind the number of times the testing is required.

Importance of self-monitoring of glucose levels

Self-monitoring is one of the most important parts of controlling one's diabetes. It helps not only in keeping a check on the blood sugar levels but also helps in tweaking one's diabetic regime. This gives you time to take proper medications and treatments and also bring in more self-health awareness to avoid loss of treatment window.

Some of the advantages of using a self-monitoring glucometer are:

• It gives an insight if the medicines are working or not.
• You can learn about the food which is to be controlled and thus manage a good diet.
• It helps in deciding your day and various tasks.
• It makes a patient anxiety-free who keeps worrying about hypoglycemia.

Diabetes can be controlled to a larger extent, if you decide to give your lifestyle a proper check. A good sugar test machine can help keep track of your blood sugar levels at all times. Choose accusure simple glucometer and get ahead of your diabetes by committing to better health.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10267281

How Sanitizer, Masks and Diet Can Play Important Role in Protecting Us From Corona Virus?

Coronaviruses refer to a large family of viruses according to the biological classification systems. This family is responsible for many known illnesses in humans like the common cold. This coronavirus is a new strain, earlier not identified in human beings, the novel-coronavirus, which is causing the current havoc.

The common symptoms of this viral infection are fever, cough and symptoms related to respiratory system like difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath. In its most severe form, it can also lead to SARS, kidney failure, pneumonia and even death.

Effect of Sanitizers:

Hand sanitizers, chemically are mostly alcohol (particularly isopropyl alcohol), along with some emollient and some oils (for the purpose of aroma).

Hand Sanitizers have been proven to have properties capable of killing the microbes present on surfaces and this microbe-killing property is given to Sanitizers by the alcohol present in them.

Although of great importance, especially during the current problem of coronavirus causing destruction around the world, sanitizers should be used keeping in mind that regular and proper washing of hands with soap for a minimum of 20 seconds should be given priority as this is the best method to kill the germs present on our hands and hand sanitizers should be used as an alternative to soap and water.

Effect of masks:

As the virus has been reported to be spread through the means of respiratory droplets, which are droplets coming out from the mouth of an infected person that may be inhaled by other people by transmission through air or by direct contact. Hence, it becomes very important for people to wear masks to safeguard themselves against this deadly virus.

But at the same time, it should also be noted that people need to wear a mask only around someone they suspect of being infected and they should not necessarily wear it wherever they go. Healthy people have no need to compulsorily wear a mask always and their purchase of masks is causing shortage of masks for health care professionals who need it more as they are always in contact with infected people.

Therefore do not wear a mask always, but do definitely wear it in case you are coming in contact with someone infected or suspected to be infected.

Effect of diet:

Diet is the basic part of human life and hence it is not a hyped statement that everything concerning the human body revolves around the diet one takes.

Hence, in the battle against the coronavirus, always keep in mind to not take raw food like raw meat, raw eggs or even raw vegetables and cook your food thoroughly and avoid white sugar.

Secondly, one can take food that boosts our immunity like intake of food rich in Vitamin-C (orange, amla, etc), ginger, garlic, coconut oil, oregano, tulsi, nuts and seeds like almond, cashew, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.

The basic safety tips issued for public include regular and proper hand washing, cooking meat thoroughly, while sneezing cover your nose and mouth and avoid any form of contact with someone showing symptoms of the coronavirus.