Can you use the expired test strips for diabetes? Using such test strips will undoubtedly affect the results. Let’s 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 you’re using for checking the blood sugar, ensure they are brand new and unexpired. It’s very simple to understand that you can’t expect accurate results from unexpired test strips. It can be hazardous, especially if you’re making treatment decisions based on the final results.
As you’ll 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. We’ll be talking about the testing supplies later, but first on if you can use expired strip tests for blood sugar.
What About The Accuracy Of The Test Strips?
At a glance, the test strip for checking the blood sugar level seems to be uncomplicated. As a result, many people don’t check the expiration date and keep using the test strips even if they are expired. Yes, the test strips look like plastic pieces, but they provide crucial results.
The enzyme used in the test strips is crucial, but you shouldn’t use it after the expiration date set by the manufacturer. To ensure the enzyme present in the strips is appropriate, you must keep the expiration date in mind. As a result, it’s essential to use supplies that only deliver accurate results.
How Do The Test Strips Get Expired?
When you’re having a diabetes problem, checking your blood sugar level becomes very important. Glucose test strips are used for testing the blood sugar level indoors. However, if you don’t know how to check your blood sugar level at home, various supplies are available in the market to ease this process.
How Are The Glucose Test Strips Used?
After lancing the fingertip, the glucose strips are then inserted into the glucose meters for absorbing the blood sample. After absorbing the blood sample, the blood is combined with the enzyme.
The glucose meter releases a basic current of electricity in the blend of blood sample and enzyme, and the reading is derived finally. In this entire procedure, electrical resistance plays an important role.
In most cases, the enzyme drives the accurate result. However, over time, this enzyme gets affected due to imprudent heat, humidity, or cold. The age and poor storage conditions also affect the enzyme.
As a result, it becomes essential to use test strips that aren’t expired.
The manufacturer’s instructions present on the package of the glucose test strips seem to be tedious, but it is essential. Reading these instructions is very important because you’ll learn the right way to store the test strips.
One of the biggest factors that affect the quality of the enzyme is the temperature. So, when you read the instructions, also look at the suitable temperature level for storing the test strips. This way, you’ll preserve the test strips for a longer period, and you’ll indeed get the best results.
However, wherever you keep the test strips, aging will definitely degrade the quality of enzymes. As a result, it becomes essential to use the brand new test strips at the earliest.
Is It Safe To Use Expired Test Strips?
The simple answer is ‘NO.’ You should never use the expired test strips to check your blood sugar level. It’s very easy to understand that expired test strips won’t give you accurate results. You can’t use the expired test strips because your treatment decision will be based on the results.
It’s not recommended considering the results derived by the expired test strips.
Doctors always create an emergency plan for the patients when the blood sugar level goes extremely high or low. The emergency plan is nothing but medications and some common practices for maintaining the blood sugar level.
In case if the expired test strips show that your blood sugar is relatively high or low, you’ll follow the emergency plan, which is not required.
Why Do People Still Use Expired Test Strips?
The reason is people want to save money by using expired test strips. Using expired test strips is very unsafe and should be avoided. You should never purchase the test strips directly from the insurance companies because they are often behind in making profits. The majority of test strips are near the expiry data; thus, you should avoid them.The easiest way of getting the brand new test strips is by ordering directly from the manufacturer. On the other hand, you can check out the reputed online pharmacies; they also provide genuine and newly manufactured test strips.
Even if you’re getting the expired test strips for free, you should avoid using them.
Final Thoughts
Just because others are using expired test strips, it doesn’t mean you should also use them. The enzyme present in the test strips is crucial and sensitive, and by trusting the wrong results, you’ll end up on your deathbed.
However, if you feel that test strips might burn your pockets, you can purchase them in the festive season. Some brands even offer heavy discounts on glucose test strips.
Undoubtedly, diabetes supplies are costly, but you can’t think of cost-cutting. It’s still easy to get the expensive diabetes supplies at dirt cheap rates.
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