Alternate Site Testing
You may have heard that advances with some blood glucose meters allow you to consider performing blood glucose tests on other parts of your body, such as the palm, forearm, upper arm, thigh or calf.1 Because the skin of these parts of your body contains fewer nerves than the fingertip, testing may be more comfortable.2
It's important to know that while blood from your fingertip can be tested at any time, there are times when testing from alternate sites is not ideal, because you may not get the most accurate result.3
Therefore, alternate site testing is recommended when blood sugar is stable,3 often:
•immediately before a meal
•when fasting
•near bedtime
Times when alternate site testing is not recommended:
•following a meal, when blood sugar values are rising quickly3
•after exercise3
•whenever you think your blood sugar is low or falling quickly4
Please note: Never ignore the symptoms of low or high blood sugar.
•If your blood sugar test result does not match the way you feel, perform a fingertip test to confirm the result. If the fingertip result still does not seem to reflect the way you feel, contact your doctor.4
•Please talk to your doctor before using sites other than your fingertip for testing blood sugar.
1 Get the facts about alternate site testing and talk with your doctor before deciding if it's right for you.
2 Robert A. Freitas Jr., Nanomedicine, Volume I: Basic Capabilities, Landes Bioscience, Georgetown, TX, 1999. Available at:
http://www.nanomedicine.com/NMI/7.4.6.1.htm. Accessed September 24, 2007.
3 Dawn M. Bina, CMT, et. al. "Clinical Impact of Prandial State, Exercise, and Site Preparation on the Equivalence of Alternative-Site Blood Glucose Testing." Diabetes Care, 26:981-985, 2003. Available at: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/26/4/981? maxtoshow=&HITS=10 &hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=forearm+stable&searchid=1 &FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT. Accessed November 7, 2007.
4 Nadine Lucidarme, MD, et. al. "Alternate-Site Testing Is Reliable in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes, Except at the Forearm for Hypoglycemia Detection." Diabetes Care 28:710-711, 2005. Available at: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/28/3/710?maxtoshow=&HITS=10 &hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=alternate+site+testing&andorexactfulltext= and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT. Accessed November 7, 2007.