Diabetes is a disease that can make a person’s life a mess if left untreated. The long list of complications of Diabetes have already been mentioned in earlier posts. The only way to tackle Diabetes is to take reins over your blood glucose levels. This can be done by making adequate lifestyle and dietary changes along with some medications. But, how do you know for sure that the blood glucose level is within the recommended normal range?

A blood glucometer is the right tool if you want to take control of your Diabetes. I’ve already written reviews of some of the famous glucometers available in the market. This post is a review of the One Touch Select Simple glucometer, a product from Johnson & Johnson.

Features of One Touch Select Simple Glucometer

Compared to the Accu-Chek and Bayer glucometers which I’ve already reviewed, the One Touch Select Simple is a humble device with respect to the unique features.

• It’s simple to use, No Coding, No setup required
• High and Low blood sugar alarms with colour and audio notifications.
• Instant accurate results in a matter of seconds
• No buttons to confuse you
• One Touch Select Simple meets the ISO accuracy requirements of ISO 15197:200316

How to Use the One Touch Select Simple Glucometer?

The device does it’s job in the most easiest and simplest way as truly claimed by the manufacturer. You just need to insert the test strip into the top slot of the glucometer and apply the blood sample obtained after the sterile finger-prick. The glucometer will do the rest and display the result in the small LCD screen within 5 seconds.

There is no need to insert the chip (for coding) prior to inserting the test strips. This is especially helpful for the elderly.

The ranges for high/low alerts are preset in the monitor according to post-prandial (after meal) blood glucose levels recommended by the American Diabetes Association guidelines 2011. The reading and the musical alerts should be interpreted in light of the same. The preset ranges of blood glucose levels are as follows :

• Greater than or equal to 240mg/dL (up to 600mg/dL) is considered Very High. Indicated by red colour and slow beeps.
• Greater than or equal to 180mg/dL is considered High. Indicated by red colour and single beep.
• Less than or equal to 70mg/dL is considered Low. Indicated by blue colour and repeated fast beeps.

Talk to your doctor and seek advice on how the monitors preset ranges may be relevant to your personal targets.

Pros

• The biggest positive factor of this particular glucometer is it’s cost. The One Touch Select Simple glucometer is now on sale at Amazon from just INR 610 !. By far, this is one of the cheapest glucometer that you can buy without compromising on it’s performance and the accuracy of the results.
• No Coding, No setup required before using every new vial of test strips
• I’ve checked the accuracy of this particular glucometer by testing the blood samples at the medical laboratory. The values obtained on the One Touch Select Simple glucometer were easily comparable to the ones obtained from the lab.
• Cheaper test strips compared to the other brands. A pack of 50 strips costs just INR 900.
• Free lifetime replacement warranty for the glucometer after registering the glucometer at the official One Touch India website. Registration can also be done by dialling 1800-22-5544.
• This is by far the slimmest glucometer you can buy in India. It’s lightweight and you can even carry it in your wallet if needed!

Cons

• Only 10 Test strips are included in the package. You’ll have to buy the test strips separately for continuous use.
• The lancing device provided with the glucometer does it’s job, but rather painfully compared to the Accu-Chek Softclix. I’d recommend you to buy the later for the most painless lancing experience.
• No memory capacity for the glucometer. This is unlike the other famous glucometer brands (Accu-Chek)
• No way to sync the values with any electronic device. There is no infrared or USB support in this glucometer.
• The battery lasted just one month. In order to get more juice out of the small battery, I recommend you to remove the back cover of the monitor and take out the battery after every single measurement.
• The display is a small screen with no backlight. Older persons with Diabetic Retinopathy and other visual disturbances may find it difficult to read.

Verdict

The One Touch Select Simple glucometer was the first glucometer that I bought for my parents. After two years of it’s purchase, the One Touch glucometer is still doing it’s job pretty neat. The price of the test strips have increased a bit in the past one year. The battery of the glucometer drains out within two months. But, since they are available at just 15 INR, it really doesn’t make a big deal.

After every blood glucose test, you’ll need to write down the values in a book with date and time. This is the only way to keep track of your blood glucose variations when using this device.

If you’re a tech geek, check out the Accu-Chek Active, Accu-Chek Performa or the Bayer USB contour glucometers (Link to the reviews page). These devices stores the blood glucose measurements and even syncs with your personal computer. But mind you, these devices comes at a higher price compared to the One Touch monitor.

If device memory and data recording is not a concern for you ; and if you want the best accurate blood glucose results at a cheap price, go for the One Touch Select Simple glucometer.

BUY the One Touch Select Simple Glucometer at just INR 610 NOW!!!