If you are a diabetic or someone from your family is suffering from diabetes, you would understand the importance of blood sugar levels and how it makes a world of a difference to a patient. When you have a record of all the blood sugar tests over a period of time, you have a good picture of your body's response to your diabetes care plan and helps you prevent long-term complications.
Glucose is a major source of energy for most cells of the body which is sourced from carbohydrates. Our body breaks down carbohydrates (from the sugary and starchy foods that we eat) into glucose which is then released in the bloodstream from the gastrointestinal tract. This amount of glucose in your blood stream is called blood sugar level. Obviously, your blood sugar levels are different when you are fasting and when you just had a meal. They are also affected by other things, such as exercise, illness, stress and changes in medication (tablets/insulin).
What is a blood sugar test?
The blood sugar test is ordered to measure the amount of glucose in the blood right at the time of sample collection. It may be measured on a fasting basis (collected after an 8 to 10 hour fast), randomly (anytime), or post parandial (after a meal). Another related laboratory blood test known as the HbA1c test can show your average blood sugar level over the previous six to eight weeks.
Why do I need to do one?
Checking your blood sugar will help you learn how food, activity levels, stress, medicine and insulin affect your blood sugar level. Getting a test done once a year will also help diagnose and monitor hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, diabetes, and pre-diabetes.
Testing your blood glucose provides you with a picture of your blood glucose control and indicates when changes occur. To get a clearer picture, everytime you perform a blood sugar test, record the date, time, test results, diet and exercise, and medication and dosage information in a record book. This information will help you see how food, physical activity, medication and other factors affect your blood glucose, and puts you in a better position to manage your diabetes.
What is the acceptable blood sugar level?
Your blood sugar levels differ at different times of the day. They are typically lowest when waking up because you haven't had anything for the past 8-10 hours. As the day progresses and you start your meal course, the blood sugar levels start rising. The ideal values are:
- Fasting at least eight hours (fasting blood sugar level) - between 90 and 130 mg/dL (5 and 7 mmol/L).
- Before meals - between 70 and 130 mg/dL (4 and 7 mmol/L).
- One and a half to two hours after a meal (post parandial blood sugar level) - less than 180 mg/dL (10 mmol/L).
Levels of blood sugar consistently higher then 150 mg/dL are a sign of high blood sugar also known as hyperglycemia. Long-term hyperglycemia causes many of the long-term health problems associated with diabetes, including eye, kidney, heart disease and nerve damage.
When the blood sugar level persistently falls to 70 or lower, this is a sign of low blood sugar also know as hypoglycemia. Symptoms may include lethargy, impaired mental functioning, shaking, twitching, weakness in arm and leg muscles, pale complexion, sweating and loss of consciousness. Brain damage is even possible. Both conditions (hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia) are equally fatal and should be treated by going to a medical practitioner.
When to check the blood sugar levels?
The number of times you need to test your blood sugar levels depends on many factors like your individual diabetes treatment plan, the type of diabetes and how well your blood sugar is controlled. If you use insulin (all type 1 diabetes and many type 2s), your doctor may recommend blood sugar testing 3 to 10 times a day - before and after certain meals, before and after exercise, and in the night before bed time. This is to assess the effectiveness of your prior insulin dose and to help determine your next insulin dose. If you manage type 2 diabetes with other medications or with diet and exercise alone, you may be able to test your blood sugar level less often.
How should I check it?
In order to check your blood sugar levels, you would require a sterile finger lancet, test strip and a glucometer. Once you have this apparatus, follow the instructions that come with your glucose meter. In general, here's how the process works:
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. Then dry them well. This will help get rid of any contaminants (like traces of food you have been eating), and will also ensure a good blood flow to your fingers.
- Remove a test strip from the container and replace the cap immediately to prevent damage to the other strips. Insert the test strip into the meter.
- If available, use an alcohol pad to clean the area you are going to prick and let it dry.
- Prick the site with a lancing device. Instead of pricking the tip of your finger, use the side of your finger so that you won't have sore spots on the part of your finger you use the most.
- Put a little drop of blood on the test strip. If you are able to obtain enough blood, hold your hand down to let gravity help the blood flow to the fingers.
- Follow the instructions for using the blood glucose meter.
- The blood glucose meter should give you readout of your blood sugar level within a few seconds.
- Record the results in your record diary.
Some additional tips
- Before pricking your finger, massage your finger downwards to the tip of your finger to get the blood flowing.
- Don't use the same finger over and over again to avoid the risk of infection or callous build up.
- Avoid storing meters and test strips in areas that experience varied temperatures.
- Dehydration can cause false high readings, so make sure you are properly hydrated before testing.
- Do not do any heavy exercises before the testing.
Different monitoring devices or meters use different methods to measure blood glucose and may give different results. So always use only type of device to obtain an overall picture of your blood glucose trends. Also, the blood samples sent to the hospital laboratory for analysis may return results that are 10-15% higher than the results you get from a blood glucose meter. This is because some blood glucose meters report whole blood glucose referenced results whereas laboratory systems report plasma results.
Some newer devices allow collection of blood samples from other parts of the body, such as the forearm or the thigh. Scientist are also developing machine that could give you readout without pricking. But until then the good old pricking would works just fine.
If you blood sugar levels are fluctuating violently, you should contact an expert at the earliest!
Really a very informative article.