GlucometerBlood glucose meter, Glucose meterA small home device that measures blood sugar from a fingerprick drop of blood in a few seconds.
Continuous glucose monitor
Also known as CGM, Flash glucose monitor, Libre
A small sensor worn on the arm or abdomen that measures glucose continuously and sends readings to a phone, without fingerpricks.
Instead of isolated snapshots, a CGM shows the whole curve — how sugar rose after a meal, how far it fell overnight, and which direction it is heading right now.
What it adds over a meter
- Overnight lows that fingerpricks miss entirely
- Alarms before a low becomes severe — valuable in
- "Time in range", a more complete picture than alone
Related terms
- HbA1cGlycated haemoglobin, A1cHbA1c measures the proportion of haemoglobin that has sugar stuck to it, which reflects the average blood glucose over roughly the past three months. It needs no fasting and is used both to diagnose diabetes and to judge how well it is controlled.
- Hypoglycaemia unawarenessImpaired awareness of hypoglycaemiaLosing the early warning symptoms of low blood sugar, so the first sign is confusion or collapse rather than shaking and sweating.