Blood Glucose Monitoring in Home Care

Cover image for: Blood Glucose Monitoring in Home Care
CPDTime.
10m
Updated 26 Jun 2025 760 Ratings

Clients living with diabetes may need to have their blood glucose level (BGL) monitored and kept within a target range. Maintaining an appropriate BGL is critical in reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications (Diabetes Australia 2025a).

Blood Glucose Monitoring Equipment

blood glucose monitoring equipment meter lancet device checking strips

To monitor a client’s BGL, you will need the following equipment:

  • Blood glucose meter
  • Lancet device with lancets
  • Blood glucose monitoring strips.

(Diabetes Australia 2025a)

When Should Blood Glucose Levels be Monitored?

This should be decided by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner. Depending on the client, you may need to check their BGL at certain times, such as:

  • Before breakfast
  • Before lunch or dinner
  • Two hours after a meal
  • Before bed
  • Before exercise
  • When they are feeling unwell.

(Diabetes Australia 2025a)

How to Monitor Blood Glucose Levels

  1. Instruct the client to wash their hands in warm, soapy water (do not use hand sanitiser) and dry them thoroughly (to remove contaminants).
  2. Perform hand hygiene and don gloves.
  3. Choose the testing site. Ideally, this should be the side of the fingertip on the middle or ring finger.
  4. Insert the monitoring strip into the blood glucose meter.
  5. Prick the chosen testing site with the lancet.
  6. Wipe the first drop of blood away using a clean tissue or gauze, as it may contain other fluids that will contaminate the sample.
  7. Add a small drop of blood onto a blood glucose checking strip.
  8. Put the glucometer down and apply a clean tissue or gauze to the puncture site, applying pressure to manage the bleeding if required.
  9. The blood glucose meter will then display the client’s blood glucose level in millimoles per litre of blood (mmol/L).
  10. Immediately dispose of the lancet in a sharps container.
  11. Remove gloves and perform hand hygiene.

(Diabetes Australia 2022a; Mathew et al. 2023)

Blood Glucose Targets

Once you have tested the client’s BGL, you should check to make sure that the reading falls within the target range.

Note: The following targets are a guide only. Each client should have a suitable target recommended by an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. Always refer to your organisation’s policies and procedures first.

Fasting/before meals Two hours after starting meals
Type 1 diabetes 4 - 7 mmol/L 5 - 10 mmol/L
Type 2 diabetes 4 - 7 mmol/L 5 - 10 mmol/L

(RACGP 2024; NDSS 2021)

Document these readings and report to the appropriate clinical care staff if they are outside the target ranges.

blood glucose monitoring target

Equipment Troubleshooting

The blood glucose meter may stop working properly for several reasons, including:

  • Being too hot or cold
  • Being too old
  • Being exposed to moisture or humidity
  • Dead batteries or battery failure
  • Damaged or out-of-date testing strips
  • Using the wrong type of testing strip
  • Having an inadequate amount of blood on the testing strip
  • Putting the testing strip in the wrong way
  • The client’s hands are contaminated by dirt or food, which may interfere with the reading
  • The client is experiencing dehydration or anaemia, which may reduce the accuracy of readings.

(Healthdirect 2024; Mayo Clinic 2023)

The following strategies may help to prevent equipment issues:

  • Always read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Ensure that both you and the client wash your hands before performing the test. If using wet wipes, ensure the site dries completely before performing the procedure. Do not use hand sanitiser.
  • Check that you’re using the correct type of testing strip.
  • Ensure that you insert the testing strip correctly.
  • Ask for help from colleagues if needed or contact the manufacturer’s helpline.

(Healthdirect 2024; Mayo Clinic 2023)

When to Escalate Care

The following symptoms may indicate a deterioration in the client’s health and require escalation of care to your responding clinical support team.

Signs that a client with diabetes may be experiencing hypoglycaemia (where BGL is too low) are a BGL of 4.0 mmol/L or lower (NDSS 2021), as well as any of the following symptoms:

  • Weakness, trembling or shaking
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • Sweating
  • Headache
  • Hunger
  • Irritability or aggression
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Numbness or tingling near the fingers, face or lips
  • Anxiety or fear
  • Slurred speech
  • Confusion
  • Reduced coordination
  • Reduced consciousness or loss of consciousness
  • Seizures
  • Sleeping before meals (in older people)
  • Cognitive and behavioural changes (in older people)
  • Falls (in older people).

(VIC DoH 2023)

Signs that the client may be experiencing hyperglycaemia (BGL is too high) include:

  • Excessive thirst
  • Passing frequent, large volumes of urination
  • Fatigue
  • Blurred vision
  • Infection
  • Unplanned weight loss.

(Diabetes Australia 2022b)

Infection Control

BGL monitoring poses a risk of transmitting bloodborne viruses such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (CDC 2024).

In order to prevent infection transmission, you should:

  • Never use the same lancet device for multiple clients, even if the needle is changed and the device is cleaned and disinfected
  • Change gloves if you come into contact with lancet wounds or objects that are potentially contaminated with blood. Do this before touching any clean surfaces
  • Use an alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water:
    • If your hands become visibly soiled
    • After you finish contact with a client
    • After coming into contact with blood or body fluid
    • Before touching equipment that is intended to be used for other clients
  • Immediately discard used lancet devices into a sharps container after use
  • Always change your gloves and perform hand hygiene between attending to different clients
  • Clean and disinfect the blood glucose meter after every use (refer to the manufacturer’s instructions)
  • Ensure the blood glucose meter is approved for use on multiple people before using it on another client
  • Follow equipment cleaning and disinfection procedures.

(Minnesota DoH 2018; CDC 2024)

Sharps and Waste Disposal

blood glucose monitoring sharps container
Always discard lancets into a designated sharps container.

Read: Healthcare Waste: Collection, Storage and Disposal

Lancets must always be disposed of into a designated sharps container. Never discard them into a general rubbish bin (Diabetes Australia 2025b). Testing strips should be discarded into an appropriate body fluids bin provided by your organisation.

Note: This article is intended as a guide only for non-clinical staff who are required to monitor blood glucose levels in home care clients and should not replace best-practice care. Always refer first to your organisation's policies and procedures on blood glucose monitoring.

Test Your Knowledge

Question 1 of 3

Which one of the following is NOT a correct infection control practice during blood glucose monitoring?

Topics

References

For Teams
Assign to your staff

Assign mandatory training and keep all your records in-one-place.

Find out more
Content Integrity
Ausmed strives for the highest level of content integrity and accuracy in our educational resources.
Last updated26 Jun 2025

Due for review29 Jun 2028
Disclaimer
Disclosure
Usage
Cite this resource