Blood Sugar Testing: Why, When and How

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder with abnormal blood glucose levels. This is either due to insulin deficiency or insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the beta cells of the pancreas and is vital for the cells to utilize glucose present in the blood. When insulin is lower or if the cells do not respond to insulin present, the cells cannot utilize glucose and its levels increase in the blood.

Why is Blood Sugar Test Important?

Blood glucose monitoring is the only way to check if your diabetes is under control or not. It is important to manage the blood glucose level in the normal range to prevent complications associated with diabetes like neuropathy, retinopathy, and heart diseases. Moreover, low blood glucose levels affect the ability to think and function normally. For the same reason, individuals are advised to monitor blood glucose levels at home. While doing so, it is important to maintain a log of your result. This will provide a good picture of the body’s response.

Self-monitoring blood glucose or blood sugar testing provides useful insight into diabetes management. It helps in the following ways:

• Identifies if blood glucose levels are in the normal range

• Aids in understanding the impact of treatment on your condition

• To understand the effect of stress, illness, or other conditions on blood glucose levels

When Should You Test?

Blood sugar test timings differ for everyone. Usually, the test is done either before a meal or 2 hours after it. However, few individuals require to test their blood glucose levels a couple of times in a day like after exercise, before driving, and before going to bed.

How Should you Test Blood Glucose Levels

As mentioned above, testing blood glucose levels plays an important role in managing diabetes mellitus. It can help you in making decisions regarding your physical activity, diet, and dosing requirement.

There are various ways for testing your blood glucose levels and they are as mentioned below:

1 - Using a glucose meter: All glucose meters are not similar, but the below-mentioned steps remain the same:

• Keep things ready. These include meter, a test strip, finger pricker, cotton, and a monitoring diary. Make sure that your finger pricking device has a new lancet. Wash and dry your hands carefully and put the strip in the glucose meter.

• Now prick your finger with the pricking device at the side of the finger. The World Health Organisation recommends the ring or middle finger for blood glucose testing. Avoid using the little finger as the skin is thin. Squeeze the finger a little until blood appears.

• Check if the meter is ready and transfer a drop of blood onto the test strip. Wait for the meter to display the readings and note it in the diary.

• Dispose of the test strip and lancet in the dustbin.

Newer meters allow you to test from other sites than your fingertip like the forearm, upper arm, thigh, and base of the thumb. It is seen that blood sugar levels change more quickly in fingertips when compared to the other sites. This is seen especially after a meal or an exercise. However, in the case of hypoglycemia, use your fingertip as the results are more accurate.

2 - Using a continuous glucose monitor: It is most commonly used by individuals on insulin, especially those suffering from type 1 diabetes mellitus. This device measures the blood glucose level every few minutes with the help of a sensor inserted under the skin. Most of these meters reflect your blood sugar levels all the times on a receiver. An alarm will signal you if the blood sugar levels are fluctuating quickly. Continuous glucose monitor requires a finger-stick check to calibrate them.

Samaira Rastogi is an experienced health advisor and writer. She understands the problem of human diseases very well. She is also specialised in women health issues and love to share her advise with everyone how to cure such ailments.