The Ascensia Breeze is designed to make blood glucose monitoring as easy as possible. Once you see the lineup of features integrated into this machine, you'll believe the engineers over at Bayer covered all bases. The Ascensia Breeze is definitely a more convenient way for those who aren't so dexterous to test their sugars.

With the Ascensia Breeze you don't have to change the strips every time. Each AUTODISC gives you 10 test strips, without having to fumble with changing each test strip. The test strip automatically draws the blood right into the strip with a technology Bayer calls the "Sip-in Sampling"®. The AUTODISC does not require coding - just snap it in and you're all set. The meter is ergonomically designed to fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. The meter has single-function buttons and is easy-to-use and easy to understand. It has a100 test memory.

Testing with the Ascensia Breeze is quite simple. Open the meter, insert a10-test disc, close meter. Pull and push the blue end tab to expose test strip. Apply sample and take reading. The Ascensia Breeze is the only meter that has received the Ease-of-Use Commendation from the Arthritis Foundation. For those of you who can't be bothered with clumsy test strips- this machine is worth the hands on experience.

Who's the fairest of them all? Good question. With a plethora of options, let's take a look to find the best meter for you. The American Diabetes Association outlined a few key points to consider when choosing a meter. Their criteria includes: insurance, budget, convenience, support and additional features.

First let's address the necessary evils in blood glucose meters: insurance. You can choose a meter only to learn your health insurance will not cover the cost of the meter, or even worse- the strips. So weed out your options first by coordinating with your health insurance provider. Next, assume that your insurance covers any meter, but only covers a percentage (if anything at all) on the cost of strips. Once you've addressed the monetary decisions you are ready to look at the fun part (I do apologize, I use the term fun loosely). These, of course, are the convenience features, including: size of the meter, size of the blood sample, countdown to result, display size, and coding for new strips. The support feature is seldom an issue, but when you need it is when you are most pleased that you have it. Does the meter come with customer support? Last, but not least- the additional feature category. Does the meter offer special alarms to distinguish highs and lows? Does it connect to a PC or perform internal trend analysis? How large is the memory? Certainly this list is not all inclusive, but will guide you on some vague considerations when choosing a meter.

Glucose meters are, quite literally, a dime a dozen. Ladies and gentleman, the world is your oyster. Make this meter market your own and take no prisoners. I know in days to come I will be sharing a few reviews of my own. Tell me what your meter can do. Tell me what it can't do. Tell me what else you want it to do. I'm sure the blood glucose meter powers that be would love to hear what tickles your fancy. Ask and thou shall receive.