Using Home Cholesterol Tests

Video Transcript

"So, I've got the pieces of my home cholesterol test kit laid out here. The most important thing with any home health test or any home health device is to always read the enclosed instruction thoroughly. There's nothing worse than getting to the end of a test and realizing the results have no accuracy because you've done something wrong. So, not only have you poked your finger and drawn blood from yourself, now you have to go spend money on a test you just bought. It doubles your cost and it doubles your frustration. It doesn't double your fun. So, what I have here, is the actual cholesterol test itself. And, apparently, what I'm going to do is fill blood into the little blood drop area until it covers the black line to ensure a size of sample. And in ten to twelve minutes, it will give me a cholesterol reading and at the end, we have chart to interpret the reading. To do the actual draw itself, we'll be using a lancet. When you use a lancet to make a blood draw, you'll want to draw from the sides of the pad of either your middle or ring fingers, which are less calloused and more readily bleedable than your pointer finger or thumb will be. It's important to make sure and wash and dry your hands before you draw blood. I've also obtained for myself a bit of tissue with some alcohol upon it so I can wipe the area I'm going to poke with the lancet. Then you use the gauze pad to clean up any blood that may have gotten any where or if it bleeds excessively, you apply a little pressure using the gauze pad. It should close up right away. If you have a bleeding disorder, such as hemophilia, I don't recommend using any sort of home lancet including kit unless your physician recommends. And the most important and most painful part of any home test, the band-aide. We'll be doing that at the finale of the testing. "