Hi all, Lately when checking BG on my omnipod pdm, I've noticed a couple of times where I'll get a reading that seems odd, and then immediately check again, using blood from same finger, and the reading will be totally different. Has anyone else experienced this? I'll then check against my backup meter, and get a reading that is more or less (usually 20 pts off) similar to one of the two readings I just got on my PDM. Another frustrating factor I find in managing my BG levels!?! Thanks for any input.
Thanks Erika! I’m wondering if hand sanitizer could also throwing it out of whack?? I did have one instance where I used it (alcohol based, no fragrance) to “clean” my hands, tested, thought, heck no that reading can’t be right, then I washed with water, and the reading was over 200 pts different. Aye.
Hand Sanitizer can definitely throw you off - my three year old was with her babysitter and she got a very high reading - luckily I was home at the time - the babysitter came to me - I smelled the hand sanitizer - the one we have has a distinctive smell - I washed her hands and the difference was 200+ points.
I have told my whole family not to use it on her - we just avoid her using it altogether.
Celeste
yeah, Hand sanitizer doesn’t “clean” as much as it kills/destroys bacteria.
either wash hands with soap and water, or use an alcohol swab to clean off the finger/palm/forearm
and it’s amazing the difference that cleaning your hands can make - one of the kidsi work with checked his BG about 10 minutes after being low, and got a reading of 400 or so - we washed the sugar residue off his hands, and got a much more reasonable number (120, give or take)
Fascinating! I had no idea about hand sanitizer! I admit , I"m bad and don’t always wash hands. I will for sure use more alchohol pads, i have enough of them!
A second drop from the same finger can also have less residue on it from your skin, too. Many people (like Kristin, for instance) always use the second drop. Some endos and CDEs recommend it now. I’d never heard the tip until last year, so it’s not something I’ve ever added to my regimen.
I’ve also had it happen to me where I’ve used hand sanitizer and ended up with a bg reading that was way off. I wish that there was a way to ‘remove’ said readings from the PDM history because for me it really throws my average way off.
i know that you can hit the C key on the freestyle to mark a number as a control test, so it doesn’t affect your average. there should be some way to do that on the PDM as well
On the PDM you can tag a blood sugar. You will have to go in and set up a personal tag such as “dirty hands.” I don’t know if it will affect your average. I think it will.