I compared the results of an expired One Touch Ultra (Expiration: 2021-08-31) against an Equate Test Strip from Walmart (Expiration: 2025-04-18) using a One Touch Ultra 2 Glucometer.
Why would someone use an expired glucometer? Some people may find some glucose test strips at home that they have forgotten about. And to save money, they would be curious about how accurate it is.
In my case, I found the One Touch Ultra 2 glucometer and its test strips that we used on my mother-in-law, who passed away two years ago. We have forgotten that we have it, and I bought a Care Touch Glucometer that I’m using this year.
The One Touch test strip has a 25 code, while the less expensive Equate from Walmart has a 49 code.
The price on Amazon for 25 strips of Ultra Touch is $19.99 and is out of stock, while the Equate is the same price but for 50 strips.
To adjust the code, insert a test strip and push the up or down button to change. Do this before you put a blood sample in the test strip.
Results
I did the comparison three times. One when checking the morning fasting blood sugar and twice for a one-hour post-prandial or after-meal blood sugar.
At first, I was unsure if I would get enough blood from a single needle stick to my finger and if I would have enough time and dexterity to remove the first strip, insert the second one, and change the code using one hand.
I encountered no problem doing all the tasks, and blood was adequate.
The difference in fasting blood sugar was 15, with the expired One Touch test strip being higher.
For the one-hour post-prandial, the differences are 4 and 32, with the expired strips giving higher results.
In conclusion, using expired test strips gives inaccurate and false high results with an unpredictable range.
It would have been acceptable if the higher values from the expired strips had a consistent deviation from the new strips. Still, with a range of 4 to 32, it becomes unpredictable and, therefore, useless.
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