Recommended Glucose Monitor

[EllsBells]

Hello there - long time no post! It's good to see familiar faces still on here!

We're considering getting a glucose monitor for my office now I head up a first aid team. I have a gluco-Navii that I bought several years ago based on recommendations from this forum. Is this still the most cost effective device to purchase or are there better out there now?

 

[helli]

What a lovely idea.
However, do you think it will be used often? My reason for asking is that the meter is only useful if it has test strips within date. If the meter is not used often, the strips could go out of date making the meter useless.

Sorry, I know I have not answered your question. I will leave that to someone with more knowledge in that area.

 

[Leadinglights]

As mentioned if the use is only infrequent you would risk the strips being out of date but a starter kit would normally come with 10 test strips which may be sufficient.
When I did my first aid training I'm not sure that a glucose monitor would have been one of the permitted items that were allowed to be kept in the first aid kit. The problem is that it would be easy for someone to come to false conclusions if they use it on somebody who they do not know their medical history. I know it sounds like a good idea but I would be very cautious of having it in the workplace.

 

[EllsBells]

Hi Helli and Leadinglights! It's not intended to be part of the first aid kit. But we're thinking of getting a blood pressure monitor as well - part of a wellbeing/health support drive that people can access. I know the strips have a finite lifespan once the seal is broken - hence asking for the current most cost effective brand out there. I've had a couple of people borrow my kit in recent months so this would be used at some point.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Helli and Leadinglights! It's not intended to be part of the first aid kit. But we're thinking of getting a blood pressure monitor as well - part of a wellbeing/health support drive that people can access. I know the strips have a finite lifespan once the seal is broken - hence asking for the current most cost effective brand out there. I've had a couple of people borrow my kit in recent months so this would be used at some point.

The GlucoNavii, TEE2 and Contour Blue I think are ones currently with the cheapest test strips, they usually have about a 2 year life so the cost wouldn't be huge if you needed to replace as long as you keep an eye on the date. Of course as you would for your other first aid equipment.
Things in the first aid box do seem to get overlooked when checking dates of expiry on things like bandages which you may not use very often.

 

[Lucyr]

You’d also need to get disposable lancets I think rather than a reusable lancing device that you just insert a new lancet into I think if it’s being used by multiple people, plus a sharps bin to dispose of them in. I’m not sure how you’d dispose of the sharps bin.

 

[gail2]

. I’m not sure how you’d dispose of the sharps bin.

GPs or chemist normally

 

[helli]

GPs or chemist normally

Unfortunately that is rarely the case.
You usually need a bit of detective work to find out who collects sharps bins from your area. In my area, the bins are collected from outside my house at 5:30am by the council on a pre-arranged date. My local pharmacy has no space for sharps bin collection and my GP surgery is less than helpful.

 

[grovesy]

Here you have to be on a list of an independent collection company.

 

[Lucyr]

GPs or chemist normally

I can dispose of it at the chemist but only as it’s prescribed to me, I have the label on it which they check.

I meant I don’t know how an office would dispose of a sharps bin given it’s not prescribed to them.

 

[helli]

I meant I don’t know how an office would dispose of a sharps bin given it’s not prescribed to them.

In that case, the same would be true for individuals self-funding BG meters, test strips and sharps bins.
In my area, the council (who collect my sharps) make no such check.

It feels as if there is as many different sharps container disposal variations as there are councils in the country.

 

[Lucyr]

In that case, the same would be true for individuals self-funding BG meters, test strips and sharps bins.
In my area, the council (who collect my sharps) make no such check.

I have to give my life history on mine basically! Pharmacy it was dispensed from, on what date, date I sealed it, my full name, my dob, my address, all need to go on the label!

The council don’t collect in my area you give it back to the pharmacy that dispensed it so it will depend on the system in the area where the office is based whether they can dispose of the sharps after or not.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

It feels as if there is as many different sharps container disposal variations as there are councils in the country.

Yes, my understanding is you have to check with your local council. I presume some councils share a system but it seems more by coincidence than any kind of planning.

I just need to request a collection from a private company (the council has a link) but I don't think there's any kind of checking that I should have a sharps container to collect; maybe they check it when they collect it but I'd guess they just collect the bright yellow container. (Last time I did that the collection date was the same as the normal bin day so I wonder whether it's actually the council people doing the collection (and maybe handing it off to the company who deals with it). May just have been coincidence, of course.)

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Nice to see you again @EllsBells 🙂

Hope you can find a meter that suits your needs.

I’d agree with @Lucyr that you’d have to be a bit careful about the lancing - I think finger pricking devices are meant to be used by one person (because blood can get on the device), so you may be best manually lancing with a single-use lancet.

 

[Leadinglights]

For use in our lab sessions we went over to using single use lancets for safety reasons as students were getting blood all over the accucheck lancing devices. We used to buy from Sarsted lab supplier.

 

[EllsBells]

All good points, thank you! I've basically lent my kit out a couple of times in the past 6 months, so it will happen again. I'll investigate single-use lancets. I've not used sharps bins for my used lancets - simply rammed the cap back on it and put in the bin but it's something we can set up, I think. Not too worried about collections as we're in Central London - many options around.

 

[Leadinglights]

All good points, thank you! I've basically lent my kit out a couple of times in the past 6 months, so it will happen again. I'll investigate single-use lancets. I've not used sharps bins for my used lancets - simply rammed the cap back on it and put in the bin but it's something we can set up, I think. Not too worried about collections as we're in Central London - many options around.

The single use lancets we used to use could be discarded in normal rubbish as the sharp bit retracted into the device.
Sharps bin are a nightmare to dispose of in many places, I had one as I had to inject an anticoagulant for a month and was give a sharps box by the hospital but they wouldn't then take it back as the pharmacy on site was not licenced to take them. Our local council does not collect unless you have lots and neither the GP or local pharmacy would take it.
In the end I gave it to my daughter who works in a hospital pharmacy that does take them.