Which is the best blood sugar monitor?

There are several blood glucose meters in the market. Sometimes they are referred to as blood sugar monitors. Many times doctors and health care providers suggest a specific device, but often diabetic patients need to choose the right one for them. Since most of these meters work the same way and produce more or less the same results, you can choose one based on few factors.

1. Price of the blood glucose meter

The cost for blood sugar monitors can vary between 0 to $100. Yes, I meant $0! Many manufacturers give the meters for free because once you buy a meter, you will have to stick with their own strips. They know they can make money from the strips even if they give the meter free.

2. Cost for strips

If you do some research, you may be able to find the meter for free or at a very low cost. However, the strips are not very cheap. The cost for the strips should be an important factor you should consider when you choose your glucose meter.

3. The brand

There are many popular brands out there which produce good results. You must be aware that the glucose level shown by the meters can vary a lot for each test conducted within few seconds. Almost all brands behave pretty much the same. (FDA guidelines allow up to 20% variations in self-monitoring blood-glucose meter results)

Avoid buying any cheap, local made glucose meters. I use One Touch Ultra2 glucose meter for past couple of years to monitor my blood glucose levels. I am pretty happy with the device I am using. Since I haven't used any other meters so far, I do not have any specific recommendations.

4. Ease of use

Blood glucose meters are not very sophisticated to use. However, if you are not a techie guy, avoid buying one with too many buttons and complicated features. Your blood sugar meter is meant to measure the glucose levels in the blood and not to manage your entire health information. There are better solutions out there to manage your Health Information. Choose a meter with very minimal features to perform the minimal job it is expected to do.

The One Touch Ultra meter I use require to set a code from the test strip container. Sometimes the code is same making it easy for me. But when the new pack from my pharmacy has a new CODE, I have to set this new code on the meter before I can test. I could never understand why the manufacturers have to make test strips with different codes when I have no say on choosing the strip with a specific CODE! (There are some smart strips out there in the market which automatically code your meter when the strip is inserted)