How often a person should test is determined by how tightly the diabetes is being controlled. The monitoring can range from a relaxed control with testing 2 to 3 times a week, to tight control with testing from 4 to 5 times a day. Both methods of testing blood glucose require that a drop of blood be placed on the test strip. Visually read glucose strips can be used in place of a meter. In this method, after placing a drop of blood on the strip, the color of the strip after the blood is wiped off is compared to a color chart to estimate the blood glucose level.
Readings can be educated guesswork.
The second method of testing is to use a blood glucose meter. Meters detect glucose levels by measuring a drop of blood placed on special test strips that are then inserted in the meter for analysis. The first type of meter measures the color intensity and produces a computer-translated electronic readout of how much glucose is in the blood. The other popular method measures an electric current in the blood that depends on the amount of glucose present. The amount of current depends on how much glucose is in the blood.