How to test for diabetes at home

 

Hello everyone, today I'm sharing this info on how you can test for diabetes at home by yourself.Home blood glucose monitoring is designed to offer a picture of how the body is processing glucose.A doctor might recommend testing at three different times, and often over the course of several days:

Morning fasting reading:

This provides information about blood glucose levels before eating or drinking anything. Morning blood glucose readings give a baseline number that offers clues about how the body processes glucose during the day.

  Before a meal:

 Blood glucose before a meal tends to be low, so high blood glucose readings suggest difficulties managing blood sugar.

  After a meal:

Post meal testing gives a good idea of how your body reacts to food, and if sugar is able to efficiently get into the cells for use. Blood glucose readings after a meal can help diagnose gestational diabetes, which happens during pregnancy. Most doctors recommend testing about 2 hours after a meal.
For the most accurate testing, people should log the food they eat and notice trends in their blood glucose readings. Whether you consume a high or low carbohydrate meal, if your blood sugar reading is higher than normal afterward, this suggests the body is having difficulty managing meals and lowering blood glucose.

After consulting a doctor about the right testing schedule and frequency, people should take the following steps:

  -Read the manual for the blood glucose monitor and testing strips. In most cases, testing strips should only be inserted into the monitor immediately before a reading.

  -Wash and dry hands.

  -Cleanse the testing area with an alcohol swab. Some glucose monitors allow testing on the arm or another area of the body that is less sensitive.

  -If testing on the finger, test on the side of the finger and use different fingers with each test. Most lancets allow the user to set how far it penetrates the skin. People with thicker or drier skin should set the penetration higher.

 -Position the finger against a firm surface, before lancing.

  -Squeeze the finger while holding it at chest level, and allow a drop of blood to flow onto the test strip.

  -Note the blood glucose reading and record it.

Some people with diabetes use an alternative blood test for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The testing procedure is largely the same, but will produce different readings. Sometimes known as A1c, this test provides a picture of blood sugar readings over several weeks.