Is this operator error (Accucheck Compact Plus)?

Question

On the advice of Y/A, I called the company and swapped out meters. I was getting random numbers sometimes, and the variance would be greater than 200 points.

The new meter came a couple weeks ago, but it's still happening. Only when the reading comes back "HI" though. If I take it again it'll come down 300 points (HI is over 600 on this meter).

The user/diabetic is 6 and checks her own sugar most of the time. So I'm thinking this is operator error (what are the odds we'd get two funky meters). But what could she be doing that'd cause it?

Other than, it's not that she's filling the strip before it's ready. She waits for the signal that it's ready. Can too much blood do it? She has a tendency to draw a huge drop then drag her finger on the strip.

Answer 1

Too much blood, or not enough, also she probably has something on her hands. She needs to wash and dry her hands before each test.



Even hand lotion or soap can throw it off because they sometimes contain sugar or alcohol.



Also, if she uses an alcohol swab before testing, she must wait for all the alcohol to dry first.



She should NOT drag her finger over the strip. She's supposed to let the test strip touch the drop of blood at an angle and suck the blood up. It has to be the right part of the strip too.



It sounds like her technique needs work and she's probably forcing too much blood into the strip. Tell her the strip needs to be given time to suck up as much blood as it needs and no more. She shouldn't drag it across, she shouldn't be moving it at all. Read the manual and study the pictures and you'll see the difference.



Ask the company for some testing solution to check the accuracy or your test strips too. Its usually free from the manufacturer. Test it yourself and follow the directions exactly.



See if you can get a diabetes nurse educator to watch her do a few tests too.



Some meters depend on light to take the reading and moving them while the meter is working can throw them off.



If better technique doesn't work, maybe you should try a different brand. I use the Freestyle and its been very reliable.

Answer 2

The likelihood of getting two glucometers which produce erroneous results would be essentially zero. In addition - present day glucometers use an 'electric signal'. Thus the glucometer will alert you if too little or too much blood is applied. These glucometers as are accurate as if the blood was drawn from a vein for a glucose reading. The only realistic explanation for wide variations in glucose readings would be that the diabetes is not properly controlled. If we are talking about a 6 year old then insulin would be used. This would require both a basal and a rapid acting insulin - the latter taken before each meal. If this approach is not successful the child should be referred to determine whether or not they would benefit from an insulin pump. Insulin pumps have come a long way and they are typically the norm rather than the exception in young type 1 diabetics. I wish you the very best of health.

Answer 3

Just make sure your daughter's hands are clean and dry before she tests her sugar, and that she lets the strip take up the blood. Also note that the higher your blood sugars the more variant the reading is (blood sugar meters are normally good for about a 10% range). Children's blood sugars also tend to vary more than adults simply because their body is smaller and a little bit goes a long way, so to say. I have seen children who eat a small meal and their blood sugar shoots up to a HI reading.



Also your meter should come with a control solution or there should be one available for your meter. These come in handy to test whether your meter is working properly if you're getting varied blood sugar results.

Answer 4

failure to rinse hands well and dry them or using alcohol prep pad or having hand lotion on hands will skew the results really badly.



Suggest you oversee the testing proceedure closely for several times to maybe correct what is happening that is wrong.



Too much blood doesn't happen! The test strip will hold only so much. But it also "sips" the blood in to the slot.



Check it out on your own finger. see what it does there.



I would go freaky if mine said "HI" or anywhere over 200.for that matter.



What is your little angel eating?