All that you need to know about self-glucose monitoring

Sassy, content writer | Thursday, 15 December 2022

Your date and period of diagnosis of diabetes do not matter when it comes to the regular checking of blood sugar levels. At any age or stage in life, diabetes is always accompanied by frequent checks of these readings. This is because the core of this condition is to be able to manage and maintain the body’s glucose levels and keep them in the optimal range. How will you manage your levels if you do not know them? This is where self-monitoring of blood glucose comes in. Anyone diagnosed with diabetes is asked to learn the art of checking blood sugars and ensure that they are learning to accurately record their results.
Advantages of regular testing–A sugar check machine that you can keep in your own home to be able to regularly test the levels would be vital in the case of diabetes. Here are some of the numerous benefits of having a testing machine at home:
• Not only will it help you know more about your condition but it will also assist you to recognize patterns and understand how and what is affecting your results. Timely testing will help you figure out your low and high sugar levels episodes so that you can take proper precautions to avoid them.
• If you are making any major, or even minor, changes to your life and routine, using a glucometer can prove to be a vital tool. Learning how medications or injections impact you, following exercise routines to see what suits you best, changes in your diet and figuring out if it affects your body, etc can be managed with the help of timely testing.
• A major advantage of regular testing would be for your doctors as they will be able to figure out the exact medication dose and a regime that is working for you. Based on the readings and average blood glucose levels, your healthcare team will modify and adjust your doses accordingly.

How to measure blood glucose–To avoid any complications like – infections, wounds, inaccurate results, etc, you can ensure to be safe and take a few precautions before and during testing.
Before you check your sugar levels, make sure that:
• You wash your hands thoroughly and wipe them with a clean towel or napkin before pricking. Alternatively, you can use an alcohol swab or spirit to clean and sterilize the puncture site
• Change your lancet (the needle that pricks the finger) every 3-4 uses to prevent infections
• Have your strips and cotton swabs ready.
Here are the steps you can take to check your sugar levels:
• After washing and drying your hands, you can put the strip into the meter as suggested.
• Prick your finger with the pricker and get a small drop of blood. Ensure that you are using your less-dominant hand and keep rotating the fingers and the sites of the puncture to avoid marks, scars, and wounds.
• Once you place that drop of blood onto the strip where the indication is provided, after 5-10 seconds, your testing device will provide you with the current sugar level reading.
• You can use a cotton or an alcohol swab to soak up the blood, in case there is any.
Reading blood sugar levels:
• Low sugar levels – If your device shows a reading that is below 70mg/dL, it means that your blood glucose levels are low. You will have to eat 15 grams of sugar and check your levels after 15 minutes again. Repeat this process until the reading is 100mg/dL
• Normal range – Normalcy might differ from person to person, however, the average range would be between 90-140mg/dL. The aim should be to achieve this level more often than not while testing.
• High levels – Any reading above 160md/dL can be considered high. Readings above 200md/dL might also need correction doses (more insulin), especially in type 1 diabetes. This reading at any random point in the day or 2 hours post meals can be considered high. Ensure that you take the necessary steps to bring these levels down.

How to record sugar levels–Usually, doctors provide a chart that a person is required to use as a guideline to test and record their levels. The most common times to check sugar levels, particularly during the beginning, would be – pre-breakfast (fasting), 2 hours post-breakfast, pre-lunch, 2 hours post-lunch, pre-dinner, 2 hours post-dinner, and 3 am. You can also test these levels at random times of the day to have an even better measure. This will help you record and analyze patterns and will also help your doctors provide the right kind of treatment regime.
Diabetes need not be as exhausting as it sounds, the regular monitoring of blood sugar levels can help you manage the condition and deal with the symptoms.