Treatment • Lifestyle Tips • Diabetes Prevention
Having to repeat finger sticks because of human error (i.e., dirty hands) or meter failure due to a poor blood sample can be avoided by taking certain precautions. Here are tips to get it right the first, with less pain and hassle.
Important tips to help you get the most accurate reading from your home blood glucose meter. From meter accuracy, to preparation to finger stick tips, follow these steps and you will get the best reading possible from your meter. Also, tips on testing on the forearm and other alternative sites.
HYPOGLYCEMIA is when blood glucose levels are too low to be healthy or safe for the body. Hypoglycemia occurs when not enough glucose is in the blood stream. When a person has high blood glucose levels it means that their cells, tissues, and organs (including the brain) are not getting the right amount of glucose energy. Excess glucose in the blood stream excreted in urine, or, depending on medications, exercise level, and if a person produces at least some insulin on their own, may be eventually transported to cells.
Getting an accurate blood sugar (blood glucose) reading is important. The information from your meter can tell you if you are too low (hypoglycemia) and need to eat, or too high (hyperglycemia) and need to call your doctor.
Here are seven tips to help you get the most accurate readings possible with a home diabetes blood glucose test kit.
New to testing your blood sugar for pre-diabetes? Here is a list of words relating to blood glucose testing to help you get started.
Has your doctor told you to monitor your blood glucose? Relax, it’s easy. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to test your blood sugar (blood glucose).
Information About Lancets and Lancing Devices – If you are required to check your blood sugar read our tips for choosing a lancing device, cleaning your device, how often to change the lancet needle, and other great tips.
How your body uses glucose, the role insulin plays in moving glucose from the bloodstream, and the causes of hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels.)
Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is a term to describe when a person has elevated blood sugar (blood glucose) in response to eating. IGT is diagnosed when blood sugar levels are not normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. IGT is one reason why a person may be diagnosed with pre-diabetes.
A person who is insulin resistant usually produces higher levels of insulin from the pancreas than is normal or healthy. Over production of insulin (hyperinsulinemia) can aggravate or trigger other health problems including infertility, weight gain, bloating, poor lipid profiles, and hormonal imbalances. Hyperinsulinemia also increases the risk of more serious health problems including…
What is an oral glucose tolerance test? What does it show? Does an OGTT hurt? What do my test results mean? Learn about the oral glucose tolerance test and why your doctor may order the test for you…
An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is usually done between the second and third trimester of pregnancy when the greatest amount of insulin resistance occurs. This test measures blood glucose (sugar)Â levels four or five times over a three-hour period. Prior to the test, the woman must not eat or drink anything but water for the previous eight to ten hours…
The term “normal” blood sugars applies to a set of standards recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). From time to time these standards have been adjusted to more adequately diagnose diabetes and pre-diabetes…
The most recent changes in ADA standards lowered the thresholds for diagnosing diabetes and for diagnosing pre-diabetes…
The term euglycemia means normal blood glucose (or, blood sugar). It is also referred to as normoglycemia.
See chart of Normal, Pre-Diabetic and Diabetic Blood Sugar Ranges…
Product recalls, warnings and changes in testing site instructions happen a lot in the diabetes product world. Recent product warnings have been released for meters made by Abbot (including their Freestyle meters), as well as for some AccuChek meters. In December of 2010, 359 million blood glucose test strips were recalled in one product alert alone.
