Diabetes in children: Checking blood sugar in a child
How is blood sugar monitored?
Here is a simple way to get started monitoring your child's blood sugar at home. Use these same steps to help your child learn this task.
Get organized
Before you start testing your child's blood sugar:
- Talk with the doctor about how often and when you should test your child's blood sugar. Use the blood sugar testing times form to record this information.
- Link testing your child's blood sugar with other daily activities, such as preparing for breakfast. This will help your child establish the habit of self-testing.
- Use the list of supplies to gather the things you need to test your child's blood sugar. Keep the supplies together so that a test can be done quickly if needed.
- Check your equipment before each test.
- Check the expiration date on the testing strips. If you use test strips after the expiration date on the bottle, you may not get accurate results.
- Make sure the code numbers on the testing strips bottle match the numbers on the blood sugar meter. If the numbers do not match, follow the directions that come with the meter for changing the code numbers.
- The first time you use a meter, and every time you switch meters, check the accuracy of your meter's results. Use the sugar control solution that is made by your meter's manufacturer. Follow the directions that came with your meter for using the control solution properly.
- At regular intervals, check the equipment. Put a copy of the care of blood sugar supplies with your child's bag or kit to remind you.
Do the test
Some children with type 2 diabetes need to test their blood sugar level only once or twice a day. Other children, especially children with type 1 diabetes, need to test several times a day. The more often you test your child's blood sugar, the more you will know about how well his or her treatment is keeping blood sugar within a target range.
Follow these steps when you test your child's blood sugar:
- Wash your hands with warm, soapy water and dry them well with a clean towel. Have your child wash and dry his or her hands, also.
- Put a clean needle (lancet) in the pen-sized lancet device. It holds and positions the lancet and controls how deeply the lancet goes into the skin.
- Take a test strip from the bottle. Put the lid back on the bottle immediately to prevent moisture from affecting the other strips.
- Prepare the blood sugar meter. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for your specific meter.
- Stick the side of your child's fingertip with the lancet.
- Put a drop of blood on the correct spot on the test strip, covering the test area well.
- Using a clean cotton ball, apply pressure to the place where you stuck your child's finger to stop the bleeding.
- Wait for the results. Some meters take only a few seconds. Most meters take less than a minute.
Record the results
Recording your child's blood sugar results is very important. The doctor will use your child's record to see how often blood sugar levels have been in a safe range and to determine when your child's insulin or oral medicine for diabetes needs to be adjusted. Be sure to take your child's record with you on each visit to the doctor or diabetes educator.
To record your child's results, you can:
- Get printed blood sugar logs from companies that make diabetes medicines and supplies.
- Make a blood sugar log in a notebook. You can record other information in the log or notebook, such as insulin doses, physical activity, and what your child has eaten.
- Use a meter that stores the results. Many blood sugar meters can save from 10 to more than 100 blood sugar results. Some are able to calculate the average blood sugar for a period of time, such as over a day or a week. Also, some meter manufacturers make computer programs that can use the stored results to show patterns in your child's blood sugar levels.
Preventing sore fingers
The more often your child's blood sugar is tested, the more likely it is your child will have sore fingertips. Here are some suggestions to help reduce this pain.
- Don't prick the tip of your child's finger. If you do, the prick will be more painful, and you may not get enough blood to do the test accurately. Always prick the side of the fingertip.
- Don't squeeze your child's fingertip. If you have trouble getting a drop of blood large enough to cover the test area of the strip, hang your child's hand down below his or her waist and count to 5. Then squeeze your child's finger beginning closest to his or her hand and moving outward to the end of the finger.
- Use a different finger each time. Establish a pattern for which finger you stick so that you won't use some fingers more than others. If a finger becomes sore, avoid using it for testing for a few days.
- Use a different device. Some blood sugar meters use lancet devices that can get a blood sample from sites other than the fingers, such as the forearm.
- Don't reuse lancets. They get dull and cause pain.
Test Your Knowledge
Answer the following question to see whether you understand how to monitor your child's blood sugar at home.
To test your child's blood sugar, you need to put a drop of blood on the special test strip used with the home blood sugar meter.
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| Author: | Monica Rhodes | Last Updated: January 30, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition Rhonda O'Brien, MS, RD, CDE - Diabetes Educator | |
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