What you should know about forearm testing.*

The freedom to choose where to test.

Less pain when you test on your forearm**

• Freedom to test on your arm, which has fewer nerve endings and gives sensitive fingers a break.
• 3 out of 4 patients rated the pain of arm testing as no pain at all or much less than a fingerstick.
• Tiny blood sample allows for a shallow, less painful stick.**

Forearm testing guidelines are easy to follow

• Most people take a fasting blood glucose test – that is, they test prior to meals or more than 2 hours after meals. For a fasting blood glucose test, you can choose to test on the forearm or finger.
• If you test within 2 hours after meals, an insulin dose, or exercise, you should test from your finger.

Recent studies have demonstrated:
Test results using samples taken from the forearm may differ from fingertip samples when blood glucose is changing rapidly, such as:

• Within 2 hours after meals, an insulin dose or exercise.

Understand how to get the most from forearm testing

• Review Important Information about Forearm Testing and talk to your doctor.
• Test from your finger if you normally have a concern about hypoglycemia (an insulin reaction).
• Test from your finger if you feel that your blood glucose level is changing rapidly.
• Test from your finger if you routinely test after meals, an insulin dose, or exercise.

If you have any questions, please call us at 1800 801 497 (Monday to Friday, from 8:30am-5:00pm)

Important information about forearm testing

• Under certain conditions, blood glucose test results obtained using samples taken from your forearm may differ significantly from fingertip samples.
• The conditions in which these differences are most likely to occur are when your blood glucose is changing rapidly such as following a meal, an insulin dose or associated with physical exercise.
• When blood glucose is changing rapidly, fingertip samples show these changes more quickly than forearm samples.
• When your blood glucose is falling, testing with a fingertip may identify a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) level sooner than a test with an forearm sample.
• Use forearm samples only for testing prior to, or more than two hours after, meals, insulin dose or physical exercise.
• Testing performed within two hours after meals, an insulin dose or physical exercise, or whenever you feel that your glucose levels may be changing rapidly, should be done from the fingertip.
• You should use fingertip testing whenever you have a concern about hypoglycemia (insulin reactions) such as when you drive a car, particularly if you suffer from hypoglycemic unawareness (lack of symptoms to indicate an insulin reaction), as forearm testing may fail to detect hypoglycemia.

For more information about LifeScan products, please contact us at 1800 801-497 (during operating hours) or e-mail Service@OneTouchAsia.com.

* Before you begin testing on your forearm, read the owner's booklet and talk to your doctor.
** Allows for a less painful stick when used with the OneTouch® UltraSoft™ Adjustable Blood Sampler and OneTouch® UltraSoft™ Lancets.