Usually after having done a blood glucose test at a clinical lab and being diagnosed either as a diabetic or borderline diabetic, we are advised to carry out regular blood glucose tests and the best way to do so is right at home. Any drug store will have a number of brands and models of blood glucose testers or glucometers. The most common and reliable type of blood glucose testing kit includes a meter (called the glucometer), a lancing device commonly known as the ‘lancing pen’ (used to extract a tiny drop of blood), and glucose test strips.
If you are using the glucometer for the first time, you need to locate the ‘coding strip’ in the test strip container. Insert this coding strip into the special slot (usually on the side of the glucometer). The coding strip calibrates the glucometer. This exercise has to be done every time you buy a new supply of blood glucose test strips.
When you are ready to do your blood glucose test, clean your hands and use the lancing pen to prick your finger. Extract a drop of blood and place it on the round (usually red) spot of the testing strip. Next, place the strip into the glucometer - the part with your drop of blood on it should go in first. The gadget will display your blood sugar level in about fifteen seconds or less. Generally, blood sugar testing is done around meal time; before, and after. It is also usually done before going to bed. However, the timing of the test and frequency differs from patient to patient depending on the recommendation of the doctor and severity of the disease. Remember before each blood glucose test; you need to insert a new lancing needle into the lancing pen. You also need to use a new blood glucose test strip every time you do a blood glucose test.
Latest models of glucometers allow you to record and store this data for future analysis. However, you could lose the stored results of your blood glucose tests if you remove the batteries from the glucometer. Glucometers or Blood sugar meters are available at most local drug stores. There are varieties of blood glucose monitors available in the market today. Some of them include software kits that can retrieve past information of your blood glucose tests and use it to project results in the form of charts and graphs. There are others that enable you to do a blood glucose test with blood from sites other than the finger tips or ones that use lasers to draw blood and so on. Based on my conversation with my clients, I feel the simplest types of Glucometer work well and give reasonably accurate blood glucose reading.
Generally, fasting blood sugar is said to be too high if it is 180 mg/dL or more and too low if it is less than 70 mg/dL. In case your blood glucose test results sugar levels over 180 mg/dL for more than a week or if it shoots up to 300 mg/dL at two consecutive readings along with other symptoms of high blood sugar, then it is time to pay the doctor a visit. Similarly, if your blood sugar level goes below 70 mg/dL more than once in a week, consult your doctor. He will then suggest changes in your diabetes management plan which could include a change in medication, meal plan or exercise program.
Blood Glucose Test for Diabetes is also known as: Fasting blood sugar (FBS), Blood sugar; Fasting blood glucose (FBG), Blood glucose, Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT), Urine glucose and blood glucose tests.
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