How to destroy caresens glucometers WARNING

[EllieM]

I'm a bad bad meter carer/owner, and having now destroyed my second caresens meter I thought I'd give out a general heads up, as I know it's a commonly used meter for those who self fund (or who live in New Zealand like me where it's the only pharmac funded brand).

Keep them vertical above your finger when you touch the strip to your blood drop. Too many horizontal readings allows the blood to contaminate the port where the strip meets the meter and then the electronics die. (Though interestingly mine went on reading ketones, just not glucose strips). From talking to the customer rep I suspect I'm not the only one to have done this, so beware.

Caresens users : keep that meter vertical !!!
(Of course, no doubt you all already know that, being careful to read the instructions properly when you use a new meter, unlike me. )

(BTW, even though I admitted fault, I still got a free replacement. ).

 

[Antje77]

Too many horizontal readings allows the blood to contaminate the port where the strip meets the meter

How does that work? Do you mean the blood drips down the strip and into the meter?

 

[EllieM]

How does that work? Do you mean the blood drips down the strip and into the meter?

I think so. The strip sort of sucks the blood up and if the strip is horizontal instead of vertical the blood can contaminate the port. Or so I was told by the rep, who was most insistent that I keep the meter vertical while applying the drop. (And to be fair, if you actually bother to look at the visual quick start guide they have two images with a tick and a cross, the first showing the strip vertical as you touch your finger, the second horizontal.)

And given that this is the second meter I've done this to in 4 years, I am definitely guilty of meter abuse. (It's just that when you are testing your blood while hypo in the middle of the night it's easy to fall into bad habits.) But now I know without doubt that it eventually wrecks the meter.

 

[Oldvatr]

I think so. The strip sort of sucks the blood up and if the strip is horizontal instead of vertical the blood can contaminate the port. Or so I was told by the rep, who was most insistent that I keep the meter vertical while applying the drop. (And to be fair, if you actually bother to look at the visual quick start guide they have two images with a tick and a cross, the first showing the strip vertical as you touch your finger, the second horizontal.)

And given that this is the second meter I've done this to in 4 years, I am definitely guilty of meter abuse. (It's just that when you are testing your blood while hypo in the middle of the night it's easy to fall into bad habits.) But now I know without doubt that it eventually wrecks the meter.

I use the Caresense Dual, and there is no way that could happen on my strips. What may have happened is in handling the strip before insertion, or re-inserting a used strip that had blood on the contacts. My strips do suck blood up, and it is visible in the window. Even a large drop of blood there does not fill the window and it seems to self limit the amount it needs to get from capillary action. I suspect any contamination of that port is coming from elsewhere. Maybe fishing around in the pot for a second strip to use for a repeat measurement gets sweat or blood onto the contact area.

As an electonics engineer, it was not uncommon for people handling contact areas to transfer contaminants onto the contacts which lead to poor conductivity. We used to have signs around the workshop warning of this Nicht fingerpoken!

Certainly, my Dual will not draw blood when the strip is horizontally presented, and it does need a vertical approach, which is different from the other meters I use.

The other possibility I see could occur is that sometimes I get a misread when the strip is loose in the port. Maybe some fluff or debris has slipped in and is keeping the strips from being fully inserted? Try blowing into the port, or use the garage airline next time you check tyre presures (but clean your fingers first since oil is not a good conductor either) or a bicycle pump.

 

[EllieM]

I use the Caresense Dual, and there is no way that could happen on my strips. What may have happened is in handling the strip before insertion, or re-inserting a used strip that had blood on the contacts. My strips do suck blood up, and it is visible in the window. Even a large drop of blood there does not fill the window and it seems to self limit the amount it needs to get from capillary action. I suspect any contamination of that port is coming from elsewhere. Maybe fishing around in the pot for a second strip to use for a repeat measurement gets sweat or blood onto the contact area.

As an electonics engineer, it was not uncommon for people handling contact areas to transfer contaminants onto the contacts which lead to poor conductivity. We used to have signs around the workshop warning of this Nicht fingerpoken!

Certainly, my Dual will not draw blood when the strip is horizontally presented, and it does need a vertical approach, which is different from the other meters I use.

The other possibility I see could occur is that sometimes I get a misread when the strip is loose in the port. Maybe some fluff or debris has slipped in and is keeping the strips from being fully inserted? Try blowing into the port, or use the garage airline next time you check tyre presures (but clean your fingers first since oil is not a good conductor either) or a bicycle pump.

Thanks, that actually makes more sense than the rep's explanation, because I do often take a second strip out of the tub and my fingers would contaminate the port end of the strip. I guess it still means that I'm mistreating my meter, just in a slightly different way. But the rep was really obsessed with me keeping the strip vertical, and honestly the capillary action seems to work fine when the strip is horizontal... Just wondering if we could have slightly different brands of caresens dual , though you'd think they'd change the name if the meter was different. You use caresens pro blood testing strips?

 

[Oldvatr]

Thanks, that actually makes more sense than the rep's explanation, because I do often take a second strip out of the tub and my fingers would contaminate the port end of the strip. I guess it still means that I'm mistreating my meter, just in a slightly different way. But the rep was really obsessed with me keeping the strip vertical, and honestly the capillary action seems to work fine when the strip is horizontal... Just wondering if we could have slightly different brands of caresens dual , though you'd think they'd change the name if the meter was different. You use caresens pro blood testing strips?

I am happy to confirm my strips are genuine Caresense Pro strips supplied on scrip from a pharmacy. I note that the strips in the pot are pointy-end down, so yes, a rummage to find a second strip would tend to involve human/machine contact at the connector end.

The person in the office is probably nontechnical. Unfortunately, it would be a systemic problem and would require the manufacturer to change machinery on their production line, which is not solved cheaply or simply,

 

[Resurgam]

First thing I do after opening a pot of strips is tip them out and reverse them so the pointy bit is at the top. To get them out I tip the pot and slide one out rather than putting my fingers into the crowd of strips. I can't remember having a test fail.

 

[Rachox]

I use the Caresens Dual, I haven’t had any problems (touch wood). I am an inbetweener, I neither go for the horizontal or the vertical approach. I go for 45°!

 

[Oldvatr]

First thing I do after opening a pot of strips is tip them out and reverse them so the pointy bit is at the top. To get them out I tip the pot and slide one out rather than putting my fingers into the crowd of strips. I can't remember having a test fail.

What was it that prompted you to adopt that procedure? Just curious.

 

[Resurgam]

What was it that prompted you to adopt that procedure? Just curious.

To get the contacts away from my fingers was my first thought, but then I found that for some reason the strips seem to slide out in fewer numbers when point first rather than arriving all at once when stored blunt end first.

 

[mattrix]

I have been through several Caresens N meters.
I find the weak point in the design is that the fingers that touch the contacts lose their tension and make a dodgy connection.
So that you insert a strip and the meter turns on, but then can't find the strip and turns off. If you fiddle with the strip you can get the meter to stay on, but if you blindly apply blood or touch the strip when testing you end out wasting a strip, very annoying, especially when you only have a few strips with you.

So far they have been good at replacing the meter but I only get about 2 years out of them.