Blood
Glucose
A blood glucose test measures
the amount of a type of sugar, called glucose, in your blood. Glucose
comes from carbohydrate foods. It is the main source of energy used
by the body. Insulin is a hormone that helps your body use and control
the amount of glucose in your blood. Insulin is produced in the
pancreas and released into the blood when the amount of glucose
in the blood rises.
Normally, your blood glucose levels increase slightly after you
eat. This increase causes your pancreas to release insulin so that
your blood glucose levels do not get too high.
Why control blood glucose levels?
For those with diabetes it's very important that their glucose level
is as near normal as possible. The primary goal of any diabetes
treatment is simply to keep the blood glucose level stable.
Stable blood glucose significantly reduces the risk of developing
late-stage diabetic complications, which may start to appear 10
to 15 years after diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes and often less
than 10 years after diagnosis with Type 2 diabetes. Late-stage diabetic
complications include nerve disease, eye disease, kidney disease,
stroke, heart attack, hypertension and heart failure.
How are blood
glucose levels measured?
Once a diagnosis of diabetes has been made, blood glucose levels
can be measured very simply and quickly with a home blood glucose
level testing kit. These kits come in a variety of shapes and sizes,
but they all consist of at least two things: the measuring device
itself and a strip.
Check your blood glucose level by placing a small amount of blood
on the strip. The strip is then placed into the monitor. After about
30 seconds the monitor will display the blood glucose level.
What should blood glucose levels be?
- 4 to 7mmol/l before meals.
- less than 10mmol/l one-and-a-half hours after
meals.
- around 8mmol/l at bedtime.
How often should blood glucose levels
be measured?
Those with diabetes should measure their blood glucose level once
a day, either in the morning before breakfast or at bedtime.
Measuring blood glucose levels in the morning enables insulin-treated
diabetics to take appropriate amounts of insulin if the blood glucose
level is high or low. This will reduce the risk of developing late-stage
diabetic complications.
Blood glucose should be measured any time a diabetic doesn't feel
well, or thinks their blood glucose is either too high or too low.
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