Essay On Blood Sugar At Home

HOW TO TEST FOR DIABETES AT HOME

Testing your blood sugar at home is a safe and affordable way to detect diabetes early before it becomes a health issue.

About 40 percent of adults do not know they have type 2 diabetes, meaning they are not getting any treatment. This exposes them to serious health problems such as heart disease, blindness, stroke, kidney failure, eye disease, nerve damage, gum disease and diabetic coma.

Ability to self-monitor your blood glucose level allows you to understand your blood sugar and manage it effectively. Never assume that a few tests a year at the hospital or at your doctor’s office will give you an accurate portrayal of your health because glucose levels are never the same throughout the day.

How to test

Hold your finger against a solid surface, such as a table, so that it does not pull away when you strike it with the needle.

• Prick your finger.

Connect the lancet to the lancet holder, then prick your finger. A drop of blood will appear. Do not squeeze your finger, because you may get an inaccurate result. Place the blood droplet on the test strip and insert it into the meter. Wait for a few seconds to see the results. Repeat this process using a different finger to determine the accuracy of the readings.

Repeat this test for about two days, record what you eat and your measurements for each test.

Here is what these numbers mean.

• If you get 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/DL) or a lower number then your blood sugar level is normal.

• If you get 100 mg/DL then you might have prediabetes. Prediabetes is where blood sugars are high, but not enough to be diagnosed as type two diabetes. Numerous studies reveal that people with prediabetes are 15 to 30 percent at risk of developing diabetes within five years.

• If you get a reading of 126 mg/DL or higher then you could be suffering from type two diabetes. One in 10 Americans suffers from this type of diabetes. It affects nearly one-third of over 65 years