--- title: "How to check your blood sugar at home, step by step" description: "The CDC's steps for a finger-stick check, when to test, what can throw a reading off (vitamin C included), and how to keep a log your doctor can use." canonical: https://glucosebench.com/check-blood-sugar-at-home alternate_html: https://glucosebench.com/check-blood-sugar-at-home language: en-US last_updated: 2026-09-27 type: guia --- # Checking your blood sugar at home: the steps, the timing and a log worth keeping 1. [Home](https://glucosebench.com/) 2. [Blood sugar basics](https://glucosebench.com/blood-sugar) 3. Checking your blood sugar at home: the steps, the timing and a log worth keeping The meter needs only a few seconds. Getting a number you can trust, and one your doctor can actually use, takes a few habits beyond the prick itself. By **GlucoseBench editorial team**Updated September 27, 2026 ![Checking your blood sugar at home: the steps, the timing and a log worth keeping](https://glucosebench.com/img/guia-check-blood-sugar-at-home-640.webp) Short answer The CDC's steps for checking blood sugar at home: wash your hands with soap and warm water and dry them well, prick your finger with a lancet, put a small drop of blood on the test strip, place the strip in the meter, and record the result. How often to check is your doctor's decision; the CDC says your doctor "will tell you when and how often." If you have diabetes, the CDC's usual targets are 80 to 130 mg/dL before meals and below 180 mg/dL one to two hours after. A home meter can't diagnose diabetes, the NIDDK says, so a high reading without a diagnosis means seeing your doctor for a lab test, unless it's an emergency. The CDC says to go to the emergency room or call 911 right away if blood sugar stays at 300 mg/dL or above or there are signs of DKA, and notes DKA is sometimes the first sign of diabetes in people not yet diagnosed. A severe low (below 54 mg/dL, CDC) is a 911 call too, per the NIDDK. The full lists are below. ## A finger-stick check, in the CDC's order 1. ### Get the meter ready Make sure it's charged. If the meter is new to you, the CDC suggests asking your health care team to show you how it works, and having someone else learn it too, in case you're sick and can't check yourself. 2. ### Wash and dry your hands Soap and warm water, then dry well, before every test. Cold hands can restrict blood flow to your fingertips, so the CDC's tip is to warm them up before you wash. Wash again afterward: the FDA says it lowers the risk of passing on diseases carried in the blood. 3. ### Get a drop of blood Massage or shake out your hand, prick your finger with the lancet and, squeezing gently from the base of the finger, place a small amount of blood on the test strip. 4. ### Read it and write it down Put the strip in the meter and the reading shows up after a few seconds. The CDC's sixth step is to record it, with notes "about anything that might have affected your reading." 5. ### Throw away, never share Lancet and strip go in the trash. The CDC says not to share monitoring equipment, "especially lancets," even with family, and the FDA calls over-the-counter systems "for single patient use." ## How often, and when a reading can't wait There's no one schedule for everybody. "Your doctor will tell you when and how often to check your blood sugar levels," says the CDC, and MedlinePlus notes that people with diabetes will likely check every day, some of them several times a day. The NIDDK explains the point of it: if you take insulin or other diabetes medicines, checking at home "may help you avoid high or low blood glucose levels," and even without insulin it shows how certain foods affect you, a level of detail a lab A1C can't give. The A1C still counts. The CDC says to have one at least twice a year if you have diabetes. For the numbers themselves, our blood sugar levels page puts the normal ranges next to the diabetes targets, so we won't repeat the chart here. Where you prick matters on some days. Some meters allow testing on the palm, forearm or thigh, but the FDA says to use a fingertip if you're ill, have just eaten, are under stress, have just exercised or taken insulin, think your blood sugar is low, or get a result that doesn't match how you feel. Other sites can be less accurate while glucose is changing fast. Some readings can't wait for an appointment, whether or not you've been diagnosed. The CDC says to go to the emergency room or call 911 right away if your blood sugar stays at 300 mg/dL or above, your breath smells fruity, you're vomiting and can't keep food or drinks down, you're having trouble breathing, or you have multiple signs and symptoms of DKA. Lows have a line too. The CDC puts severe low blood sugar below 54 mg/dL on one page and below 55 mg/dL on its treatment page, and says blood sugar this low "may make you faint (pass out)." For a severe low, the CDC and the NIDDK both name glucagon, a prescription hormone, as the best option; the NIDDK tells family and friends to call 911 right away after giving it, or if there's no glucagon kit. Food or drink comes only on the CDC's condition: "If the person is awake and able to swallow." Our low and high blood sugar pages have the full steps. ## What can throw a reading off ### The strips Use new strips that are authorized for sale in the United States; the FDA has warned about previously owned strips and ones not authorized here. Keep the container tightly closed, since the CDC says moisture, humidity and extreme temperatures can damage them. ### Your body that day Severe dehydration or anemia, an extreme hematocrit ("the amount of red blood cells in the blood") and conditions with high uric acid, such as gout, can affect the result, per the FDA. Ask your provider whether any of these apply to you. ### Medicines and supplements The FDA names vitamin C, acetaminophen and xylose absorption therapies as things that "may interfere with the test." Two labels reviewed on this site list vitamin C: Glyco Pulse and Blood Sugar Blaster. The FDA page gives no amount at which it starts to matter, so read your meter's instructions and tell your provider everything you take. ### Where you test High altitude, extreme temperature and extreme humidity "may cause unpredictable effects on glucose results," says the FDA. Your meter's manual lists the conditions it works in. ## Making sure the meter itself is right 1. ### Run a control solution The FDA suggests one every time you open a new container of strips, now and then as you use it, if you drop the meter, and whenever a result doesn't match how you feel. The value should land inside the range printed on the strip vial. 2. ### Read the error codes The meter runs an electronic check each time it turns on. If a code appears, the manual says what it means; if you're unsure, call the number in the manual or your provider. 3. ### Compare it with a lab Take the meter to your next appointment, ask your provider to watch your technique, and ask for a lab test to compare. If the numbers match, the FDA says, "your meter is working well and you are using good technique." ## A log beats a hunch, especially with a supplement in the mix The NIDDK asks you to record the date and time of each check, the result, and details such as what you ate or what physical activity you did, then bring it to your health care team. Most meters save results and some sync with a phone app, the CDC notes; a written record works just as well. If you've added a blood sugar supplement, log that too: the name, the day you started and the time you take it. A log won't prove a supplement works or doesn't. It does give your doctor something better than a feeling to look at. NCCIH, the NIH's center for complementary health, says "People who take diabetes drugs should tell their health care providers about any herbal supplements they are taking," because herbs used with those drugs "can cause unwanted side effects." If you take insulin or pills that can cause lows, ask whether your checking schedule should change, and keep the 15-15 steps from our low blood sugar page within reach. ## Sales pages that say you can stop testing Blood Sugar Blaster's sales page promises "No more blood sugar monitoring, test strips, insulin injections." CelluFend's asks "Are you pricking your fingers five times a day?" in the same pitch that says medications and injections "will all be a thing of the past!" The CDC says the opposite: "Monitoring your blood sugar is the most important thing you can do to manage diabetes." We don't recommend either product, and we'd be wary of any page that casts your meter as the problem. The NIDDK's case for home checks is about safety: for people on insulin or other diabetes medicines, they may help head off highs and lows. Dropping them on a supplement's say-so takes away the one tool that would show you whether anything changed. ## Frequently asked questions **How do I check my blood sugar at home?** With a blood glucose meter: wash and dry your hands, prick a fingertip with a lancet, put a small drop of blood on the test strip and read the meter, then write the number down. The first time, ask your health care team to walk you through your meter, as the CDC suggests. **How often should I check my blood sugar?** Your doctor decides. MedlinePlus says people with diabetes will likely check every day and some several times a day, and the FDA notes you may need to test several times a day to adjust your diet or treatment. **Can I test my blood sugar at home if I don't have diabetes?** You'll get a number, not a diagnosis. The NIDDK says a meter can't diagnose diabetes, and the FDA points out that "unless you have diabetes, your body regulates the amount of glucose in your blood." If a reading worries you, ask your doctor for a lab test. Some can't wait: if it stays at 300 mg/dL or above, or comes with fruity breath, vomiting with nothing staying down, trouble breathing or several signs of DKA, the CDC says to go to the emergency room or call 911 right away, and a severe low (below 54 mg/dL, or 55 on the CDC's treatment page) is an emergency too: the NIDDK says to call 911 right away after giving glucagon, or if there's no glucagon kit. **Can I check my blood sugar without pricking my finger?** A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) cuts down on finger sticks, but its sensor still goes under the skin. The FDA says no smartwatch or smart ring is authorized to measure blood sugar on its own; our page on non-invasive monitors covers that warning. **What should my blood sugar be when I check it?** With diabetes, the CDC's usual targets are 80 to 130 mg/dL before meals and below 180 mg/dL one to two hours after, though your doctor may set different ones. Without diabetes, a fasting reading of 99 mg/dL or below is normal. Our blood sugar levels page shows both. ## Related pages Blood sugar basics ### [Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia): what to do in the first 15 minutes](https://glucosebench.com/low-blood-sugar) For most people with diabetes, blood sugar below 70 mg/dL is low, according to the CDC and the NIH; for people without diabetes, MedlinePlus says hypoglycemia is… Read more Blood sugar basics ### [High blood sugar (hyperglycemia): the signs, and the readings that can't wait](https://glucosebench.com/high-blood-sugar) Hyperglycemia means high blood glucose; for most people with diabetes, the NIDDK says blood sugar is too high "when it is above 180 mg/dL." The usual signs are feeling… Read more Blood sugar basics ### [Normal blood sugar levels, and why a diabetes target is a different number](https://glucosebench.com/blood-sugar-levels) For adults without diabetes, the CDC calls a fasting blood sugar of 99 mg/dL or below normal, 100 to 125 mg/dL prediabetes, and 126 mg/dL or above diabetes; an A1C below… Read more Blood sugar basics ### [Blood sugar without a finger prick: the FDA warning on watches and rings](https://glucosebench.com/non-invasive-glucose-monitors) The FDA has not authorized, cleared, or approved any smartwatch or smart ring that measures or estimates blood glucose on its own, and in February 2024 it told people… Read more Updated September 27, 2026. 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