Day 58

These little strips.....are pretty crazy..

• They are $1 each strip
• They take the blood from the finger to put in the meter to check blood glucose
•  They are pretty tiny..about quarter inch wide, inch long and slimmer than a credit card.

I looked it up, wondering how exactly these little strips work, I found this:

" Glucose test strips are made of plastic. The end of the strip is coated with enzymes, either glucose oxidase or glucose dehydrogenase. A drop of blood, usually taken from a prick in the finger, is placed on the reagent end of the strip. The enzyme chemically reacts with the glucose in the blood, and the strength of the reaction depends on the glucose concentration. The strip is then placed into a meter that reads and then displays the blood sugar concentration
 The glucose in the blood turns either to gluconic acid or gluconolactone, depending on the type of reagent used on the strip. This chemical reaction produces electrons. When the strip is placed in the meter, the test meter sends an electric current through the sample. The amount of electric current the test strip can transmit is related to the amount of glucose in the blood. This amount of current is calculated to a blood glucose reading that the meter displays on the screen.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/65971-diabetes-test-strips-work/#ixzz230z5j1Lh"

Pretty interesting.. Our kids use about 450 strips a month..guess how much that costs?? yep, simple math..$450!!

Luckily our insurance covers 100% of the strips and we only pay for insulin and doctor copays, but wow, diabetes is very expensive!

We are very careful with our test strips:) ha