23
Testing a Blood Sample
Do not use forearm testing:
• Foratleast2hoursafteryouhaveeatenorinjectedinsulin
• Ifyouhaverecentlyexercised
• Ifyouthinkthatyourbloodglucoseislow
• Ifyouthinkthatyourbloodglucosemaybechangingrapidly
(e.g., after a meal, after taking insulin, or during or after exercise)
• Ifyouarenotawareofsymptomswhenyourbloodglucoseis
low (hypoglycemic)
• Ifyourforearmtestresultsdonotmatchthewayyoufeel,
retest using your nger or palm.
Consider NOT using forearm testing if you:
• Areill
• Areunderextrastress
• Routinelyhavewidelyuctuatingbloodglucosevaluesthat
are often low (hypoglycemic)
Valuesfromthepalmsamplewereshowntobeequivalentto
values from the nger samples.