Q: My father is a diabetic and has been going for regular check ups. His diabetes is under control. He has Accucheck diabetic testing meter with him. He recently bought a new set of test strips. When he tests with it, the reading is as high as 275, which generally used to be within 150. What are the steps to calibrate the meter? It seems like it is not working even after we calibrated it.

A:If you are not sure if it is testing accurately, you can take it to a hospital or diabetes clinic where they should be able to check it. Another way is to take it along with you when you get a HbA1c and simply do a test immediately before sampling for the HbA1c test. One can also use a test solution supplied by the manufacturers of the meter on a regular basis. Each company has guidelines for using the solutions, either in the instructions or via the helpline telephone number. The solutions are available from the manufacturers via the helpline numbers and are free of charge. You can get information from the following website: http://www.ehealthlabs.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=RACK&Show=ExtInfo When should I run a glucose control check?

• Whenever your result does not agree with the way you feel.
• If you have repeated a test, and the blood sugar result is still lower or higher than expected.
• If you leave the cap off the vial of test strips.
• Before using your meter for the first time.
• When you open a new vial of test strips.
• If you drop the meter.
• Whenever you want to check the way you are performing your blood sugar test.
• When you want to check the performance of the meter and test strip.
• After you have cleaned the meter.

How do I run a glucose control check? To perform a glucose control test, insert a test strip until it clicks into place. Make sure the orange pad is facing up and the arrows are pointing toward the meter. Press the S button and release it. This will mark the sample as a control in the systems memory. Apply a drop of glucose control solution to the centre of the square orange pad. In five seconds, the result is displayed. Compare your result to the acceptable ranges listed on the test strip vial. Are test strips and controls included in the ACCU-CHEK Active Care Kit? In order to maintain an everyday low price on the ACCU-CHEK Active System, glucose control solution, strips and controls are sold separately. However, a $2 instant redeemable coupon for control solution is included in each box of test strips.