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Alternative Site Testing (AST)
Important: AST results serve as references only.
Please consult your healthcare professional before you begin AST.
What is AST?
Alternative site testing (AST) refers to
when individuals check their blood glu-
cose levels using areas of the body other
than the fingertip. This system allows
AST at the palm, the forearm, the upper
arm, the calf or the thigh with results as
reliable as those obtained from fingertip
testing.
What's the advantage?
Fingertips feel pain more readily because they are full of nerve endings
(receptors). Since nerve endings are not so condensed at other
body sites, tests performed there will be less painful.
When to use AST?
Food, medication, illness, stress and exercise can affect blood
glucose levels.
Capillary blood at the fingertip reflects these changes faster than
capillary blood at other sites. Therefore, when testing blood glucose
during or immediately after a meal or physical exercise, results from
AST and fingertip may be significantly different.
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