Can I Use Diabetes Test Strips That Are Past Their Expiry Date
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Most sugar test strips tend to be expensive, ranging all the way to over $2 per piece. When you consider that most strips come in a pack of 50, thats a sizeable amount you need to shell out. Most people try to extract every piece of value they can from their test strips. As a result, you may find yourself frustrated if the strips go beyond the expiration date without you having utilized them. Many people throw them in the garbage because they believe that there is no further use to them. However, some people prefer to keep using them or even sell test strips for cash. There are ardent supporters on both sides of the issue. So, what do the experts say?
Before we see that, lets take a look at how the inner workings of these test strips
Firstly, you must understand how these strips work. To simplify it, it works something like this there is a component that moves the blood into a window present on the blood strip. Glucose strips have a mediator and an enzyme as well. The latter gets attached to the sugar in the blood and then attracts sugar electrons. The strips mediator passes it through its circuit for giving you a reading.
This enzyme, however, is a biological substance. As a result, it will break down one day. And when that happens, it wont be capable of pulling sugar electrons from the blood. However, you might be wondering about the exact point at which this breakdown takes place.
Can Diabetic Test Strips Expire?
Why Sell Your Diabetic Test Strips
If you have diabetes and have extra test strips, you can put them to good use by selling us your overstocked supplies. Test Strips for Money has been doing business for over 8 years, providing diabetics with quick cash for selling diabetic supplies. Test Strips for Money gives diabetic folks a legal way to make some extra income. Join the over 9000 happy customers that have sold to us
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Should I Use Expired Test Strips
Nope — expired test strips should never be used. Using expired test strips means your test results arent going to be accurate — this can become really dangerous, really fast, because your test results are what guide you in making treatment decisions.
Taking action based on results that dont reflect your true blood glucose levels is a recipe for disaster.
Most people have an emergency plan in place in case their blood glucose numbers are dangerously low or high — if your test results show that youre within emergency range but your blood glucose is actually at a safe or even normal level, you may end up taking emergency medication you dont need, which could actually put you and your blood glucose in the emergency room.
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Who Purchases Expired Test Strips
The answer is affirmative. Remove the uncertainty from storing and utilizing diabetes test strips. At Dollars For Strips, we would happily purchase your unused, unopened, undamaged, and unexpired test strips. As long as your test strips have 13 months left until expiration, we will gladly accept them.
Diabetes: 5 Commons Mistakes To Avoid When Using A Glucometer
Pintrest#1. Not washing your hands before checking your blood glucose readings.#2. Testing too soon after eating.#3. Misusing test strips and lancets.#4. Squeezing your finger to get blood for testing.#5. Not staying hydrated.With inputs from Dr. Pradeep Gadge, Diabetologist, Mumbai.References:Disclaimer: This article is authored and provided by The Times of India Healthy India Fit India partner, 1mg.com
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When Do Test Strips Expire
The expiration date of One Drop test strips depends on how theyre stored.If the test strip container is opened, test strips expire 180 days after opening or by the expiration date printed on the label, whichever is sooner.If the test strip container is closed, test strips expire by the expiration date printed on the label.If youve received expired test strips, please contact us within 30 days of receiving them, so we can send you a replacement order.Test strip containers must be stored within the conditions printed on the label to ensure accurate results. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of expired or improperly stored test strips.If you experience any difficulties, please reach out to us by calling or emailing us at . Support hours are 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.
The Strange Marketplace For Diabetes Test Strips
It is legal to resell unused test strips for blood glucose, and many patients do, driving an unusual trade online and on the streets.
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On most afternoons, people arrive from across New York City with backpacks and plastic bags filled with boxes of small plastic strips, forming a line on the sidewalk outside a Harlem storefront.
Hanging from the awning, a banner reads: Get cash with your extra diabetic test strips.
Each strip is a laminate of plastic and chemicals little bigger than a fingernail, a single-use diagnostic test for measuring blood sugar. More than 30 million Americans have Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and most use several test strips daily to monitor their condition.
But at this store on W. 116th Street, each strip is also a lucrative commodity, part of an informal economy in unused strips nationwide. Often the sellers are insured and paid little out of pocket for the strips the buyers may be underinsured or uninsured, and unable to pay retail prices, which can run well over $100 for a box of 100 strips.
Some clinicians are surprised to learn of this vast resale market, but it has existed for decades, an unusual example of the vagaries of American health care. Unlike the resale of prescription drugs, which is prohibited by law, it is generally legal to resell unused test strips.
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Can You Use Expired Test Strips For Diabetes
Can you use the expired test strips for diabetes? Using such test strips will undoubtedly affect the results. Lets find more about the expired test strips for diabetes.
Regularly checking your blood sugar level with the necessary supplies is very important when you have a blood sugar problem. Whichever supplies youre using for checking the blood sugar, ensure they are brand new and unexpired. Its very simple to understand that you cant expect accurate results from unexpired test strips. It can be hazardous, especially if youre making treatment decisions based on the final results.
As youll be trusting these results, ensure the readings should have the highest accuracy. As a result, you should purchase the testing supplies from trusted sources and check the expiration date. Before using the test strips, you should also check the expiration date. If the package of your test strips is sitting in the cabinet for too long, most probably, the test strips might have expired.
In our opinion, you should deliver your desired testing supplies to the doorstep. Well be talking about the testing supplies later, but first on if you can use expired strip tests for blood sugar.
A Trusted & Honest Company
Dont sell test strips to just anyone do business with a legitimate business that you can depend on. Ourprocess is simple and fast, making it easy to get quick cash for any test strips you have. If you havequestions or concerns, well be happy to walk you through the process and make sure that you haveeverything you need to sell your diabetic test strips for cash.
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Not Getting Enough Blood
The most common mistake is not getting enough blood on the test strip. After using dozens of different blood glucose meters since a doctor told me 21 years ago that I have diabetes, I know from my own experience that when I dont get quite enough blood on the test strip, the result the meter reports will be off.
Do Blood Glucose Test Strips Really Expire
The answer to this question is absolutely yes. Diabetic test strips do expire over time. The reason why is that diabetic test strips rely on live enzymes to measure blood sugar levels. Basically, the end of each test strip it is coated with specific proteins that react with the glucose in your blood and transform it into an electrical current which then allows the glucose meter to assess the concentration of blood sugar in the sample. The thing is these enzymes are produced by living organisms. This means they cant last forever and will eventually break down over time. As you can imagine, once this breakdown happens it can compromise the integrity of blood sugar readings. Your test strips may look like nothing more than small slivers of plastic however, the reality is they are highly sensitive and complex medical tools.
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How To Dispose Of Used Lancets And Test Strips
Along with diabetes management comes the responsibility of managing medical waste. Heres what to do with your used lancets, test strips, and insulin needles.
Millions of Americans live with lifelong medical conditions that require them to purchase medical supplies and begin a new routine to manage those conditions. Many people may find it challenging to adjust to having a serious medical responsibility added to their already busy schedule.
Diabetes in particular often requires several medical supplies to manage it well, and it can feel very intensive at first to start testing blood sugar and self-administering insulin shots or taking regular oral medication, paired with learning about the different diabetes supplies involved in self-care.
Overall, proper disposal of sharps and medical waste is not only a matter of being responsible for your own hazardous materials, but also a matter of doing your part to maintain public health and safety.
Many people also may be self-conscious or may lack self-confidence in their ability to use a lancet or syringe, which can lead to painful accidents that can even further discourage them from being confident in their own routines.
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Information About Accusure Gold Blood Glucose Test Strip
AccuSure Gold Blood Glucose Test StripUses:Product Specifications:
- Reaction time of 8 seconds
- Comes with 25 tests strips and large LCD display
- Measuring range of 20-600
- Apply blood and results will display in few seconds
Safety Information:
- Keep out of the reach of children
- Read the manual carefully before use
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S In Blood Glucose Testing
The steps patients use in SMBG are fairly simple. Manymeters require you to first insert a test strip into a slot in themeter. With others, you simply remove a test strip from its container.Next, you must obtain a blood sample. The most common method is to usean automatic lancet device with a disposable needle. The blood samplemust be transferred to the test strip then the strip is inserted intothe meter if this has not already been done. Your blood glucose meterwill read and report your blood glucose levels.
Risks Of Using Expired Test Strips
First and foremost, what youre risking is compromising the integrity of your entire diabetes management and treatment program. Your diabetes physician and care team rely on accurate information to help you build the most effective and personalized diabetes management plan. Accomplishing this depends, more than anything else, on accurate and reliable blood sugar testing.
Its true that the cost of test strips, particularly for those who need to measure blood glucose levels multiple times each day, can add up fast. But saving money doesnt do you any good if you cant be confident in the results your test strips provide.
Expired test strips can lead to blood sugar readings that are skewed either high or low. Some experts believe that as the enzymes on test strips begin to deteriorate it will cause a lesser conversion of blood sugar and, therefore, more often lead to an inaccurately low measurement on your blood glucose meter. Others say that as the enzymes get old its impossible to determine whether or not measurements will be consistently high or low. What the vast majority of experts do agree upon, however, is that expired test strips can contribute to dramatically unreliable blood glucose readings.
Never purchase expired test strips.
So, what is the diabetic test strip solution?
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How Test Strips Work
Diabetes test strips pack a lot of technology into a small space. The plastic strips are coated with a very thin layer of gold. The gold is cut into a pattern that becomes the stripâs circuit.
One end of the strip also has a coating of chemicals. They soak up your blood like a sponge and turn the glucose into electricity.
An electrical signal travels from the strip to the meter. The number you see on the meter is the speed of the electrical current. More blood sugar means a stronger signal. A stronger signal means a higher number on your blood glucose meter.
Which Of The Following Is Not Characteristic Of Type 2 Diabetes
ketones in its place energy supply, which causes systemic acidosis, and may be calculated as a excessive anion gap metabolic acidosis The combination of hyperglycemia and ketosis causes diuresis, acidemia, and vomiting resulting in dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities, which can be life threatening.
If you ve sight issues, you could not be ready to use some meters so your healthcare group can recommend alternatives Watch our video and observe our easy steps on tips on how to check your blood sugars in the right means and safely Your healthcare group will present you how to do the check and it s important that you re taught tips on how to do it properly in any other case you can get the incorrect outcomes Symptoms of hyperglycaemia in people with diabetes tend to develop slowly over a couple of days or weeks While that s no reason to panic, when it comes to our health, it is essential to know exactly what goes on on inside our our bodies Without additional ado, let s Do Expired Blood Sugar Test Strips Read High get into what blood sugar means, the means to measure it and every little thing else you have to know.
Lifestyle adjustments with a give consideration to reducing weight problems can forestall or delay the onset of diabetes in 58 of this population The patient and family should be referred to native and national assist and data groups and may require psychological .
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How Accurate Are Glucose Test Strips
This has been a controversial issue over the years because some brands of meters and strips have been shown to be more accurate than others. Theres also concern about the accuracy of models that have been out on the market for many years, so have not been tested for accuracy since their original approval by the FDA.
The California-based nonprofit Diabetes Technology Society recently tested 18 popular blood glucose meters and compared their results to those of outside laboratories that tested the same blood specimens.
The DTS gold standard is that a meter and its test strips should yield BG readings within 15 percent or 15 mg/dL of the laboratory values at least 95 percent of the time. In several studies, only six brands passed that test for accuracy:
- Contour Next from Bayer 100 percent
- Accu-Chek Aviva Plus from Roche 98 percent
- Walmart ReliOn Confirm from Arkray 97 percent
- CVS/pharmacy Advanced from Agamatrix 97 percent
- FreeStyle Lite from Abbott 96 percent
- Accu-Chek SmartView from Roche 95 percent
So, theres a whole bunch of test strips and meters out there that are less accurate than they should be. The least accurate were:
- Solus V2 from BioSense Medical 76 percent
- Advocate Redi-Code+ from Diabetic Supply of Suncoast 76 percent
- Gmate Smart from Philosys 71 percent
Still, the accuracy of results, along with ease of use and price of both the meter and strips, should factor into your decision when choosing a glucose meter, according to experts in the DTS
Want To Donate Your Unused Diabetes Supplies
If youve got unused diabetes supplies that you no longer need, dont throw them away! Here are several easy ways that you can donate your supplies to others.
If youve recently switched to a new diabetes medication or device, you may have leftover diabetes supplies that you wont need. It might feel like such a waste to throw away things like insulin vials, needles, and test strips, especially when there are many people in the world who cannot afford the diabetes devices and medication that they need to live healthy lives. The good news is that there are several ways to donate your supplies so that people who do need these items can receive them.
Its important to know that your supplies should be unused and unopened most donations will not be accepted if the supplies are no longer sealed, or if they have already expired.
Option 1: Contact your healthcare office
There is a chance that your care team collects unused diabetes supplies to provide to other people with diabetes. You can call and ask them about whether they are interested in your donation.
Option 2: Contact local diabetes advocacy organizations
Diabetes education centers or local branches of advocacy organizations may collect diabetes supplies themselves or be able to refer you to other donation sites.
Option 3: Mail your supplies to a national organization
Insulin for Life accepts the following supplies donations . The organization does not accept pump supplies.
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