Nutrition Know-how: Accurate Cholesterol Testing
>> If you have a medical condition, certain items may need to be reduced or eliminated. Seek the advice of your physician and registered dietitian before making any changes in your diet or lifestyle. Email questions to [email protected] Factors that can affect cholesterol testing results 1. Stress can increase your cholesterol level by 10 percent or more. Relax!! 2. Exercise prior to testing may affect cholesterol testing results. 3. Fasting: Don’t eat at least 12-14 hours prior to testing, drinking only water and taking prescribed medication (Diabetics should consult with their doctor about insulin/oral medications, since these will drop blood sugar levels when foods is not eaten within 30 minutes. Eat if necessary to prevent hypoglycemia and reschedule testing). 4. Winter weight gain: Lack of exercise during winter months and winter diet may increase cholesterol levels. The National Institute of Health studies show levels average 7.4 points higher in mid-January than in mid-July. 5. Estrogen levels: Women should have cholesterol testing done at the same time of the month (before the menstrual cycle begins) because elevations can occur as estrogen levels fall toward the end of the menstrual cycle. 6. Illness: Avoid cholesterol testing if you have the flu or gastrointestinal illness. Such an illness can interfere with fat absorption and create a falsely high reading. 7. Position: Sit down before having your blood drawn. Fluids pool differently when you are standing. 8. Squeezig to get a blood sample: Warm your hands before having a finger-stick. Don’t let anyone squeeze or milk blood from your finger. Excessive squeezing may bring fluid from the cells and create a falsely low reading. 9. Dietary intake: Anything you eat 10 days prior to testing may affect your trigly Continue reading >>
6 Tips For Healing Bruised Fingers
We know that with each blood glucose (BG) check, you are making a proactive decision to proactively manage your diabetes and we applaud you for that! In doing so, we’ve heard feedback from our customers that this can also become painful and frustrating over time so we wanted to see what we could do to help. Frequent blood glucose (BG) testing is critical to good diabetes management, but sometimes it can leave your fingers bruised and sore. Good fingerstick techniques can help provide more accurate readings, reducing the number of times you have to redo that BG check. Here are 6 tips to help minimize sore black-and-blue fingers. 1. Change Your Lancet Often Although many people may reuse their lancets, they are likely to become dull over time, causing more pain with prolonged use. Be sure to change lancets with each fingerstick to ensure they’re sharp and clean. So make sure to carry extra lancets with you, and remember that you should never share yours or use another person’s lancing device. Use the lowest setting on the device that will obtain an adequate amount of blood. The more shallow the poke, the less it will hurt. It may take some experimentation to see which setting works best for you. You might also try experimenting to find the right lancet or lancing device for you, or change it out more frequently. 2. Wash Your Hands Before Testing Using alcohol, such as hand sanitizer, to clean your hands before testing can dry and toughen the skin over time, making it more difficult and painful to obtain a drop of blood. Additionally, if the alcohol does not dry completely, it can mix with your blood and cause an inaccurate reading. If possible, instead of using alcohol, wash your hands with warm soapy water. Washing with warm soapy water will help bring blood to the Continue reading >>
Home Blood Glucose Test
Test Overview A home blood glucose test measures the amount of a type of sugar, called glucose, in your blood at the time of testing. The test can be done at home or anywhere, using a small portable machine called a blood glucose meter. Home blood sugar testing can be used to monitor your blood sugar levels. Talk with your doctor about how often to check your blood sugar. How often you need to check it depends on your diabetes treatment, how well your diabetes is controlled, and your overall health. People who take insulin to control their diabetes may need to check their blood sugar level often. Testing blood sugar at home is often called home blood sugar monitoring or self-testing. If you use insulin rarely or don't use it at all, blood sugar testing can be very helpful in learning how your body reacts to foods, illness, stress, exercise, medicines, and other activities. Testing before and after eating can help you adjust what you eat. Some types of glucose meters can store hundreds of glucose readings. This allows you to review collected glucose readings over time and to predict glucose levels at certain times of the day. It also allows you to quickly spot any major changes in your glucose levels. Some of these systems also allow information to be saved to a computer so that it can be turned into a graph or another easily analyzed form. Some newer models of home glucose meters can communicate with insulin pumps. Insulin pumps are machines that deliver insulin through the day. The meter helps to decide how much insulin you need to keep your blood sugar level in your target range. Continue reading >>
- Home blood glucose test: How to test for diabetes at home
- Postprandial Blood Glucose Is a Stronger Predictor of Cardiovascular Events Than Fasting Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Particularly in Women: Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes Study
- Home remedies lower blood glucose levels preventing diabetes
Measuring Blood Sugar
The body is constantly measuring its levels of blood sugar and correcting high or low values. You, as diabetic, has lost much or all of this capability. With the assistance from technology, you must take over where your body has left off and do what it once did automatically - keeping your blood sugar in the acceptable range. Measuring blood sugar requires a daily commitment, not as many times as when doing your blood sugar profile, but testing daily is still needed to be able to manage your diabetes effectively. There is a test that should be done 3 - 4 times per annum, that shows your average blood sugar from the last 2 - 3 months. It is the HgbA1c test, also called HbA1c or A1c. However, measuring blood sugar done as self-monitoring at home, is with a glucometer, giving the concentration of sugar in the blood at that point in time. This instantly available valuable information gives an accurate picture of the state of your blood-sugar level, and reveals patterns of blood sugar changes. Knowing whether your blood sugar is high, low or acceptable, will dictate any action you should take to get it back to normal, and helps in the planning of meals, activities and the time of day for medications. Keeping records of these readings will also indicate to your doctor how well your treatment is working. Technique for Measuring Blood Sugar Measuring blood sugar is done by pricking the finger with a lancet, producing a drop of blood. This blood is then placed on a test strip that is inserted into a glucometer. Within seconds, the meter will give the blood sugar reading. The whole process seldom takes more than 30 seconds, mostly around 3 - 5 seconds. Clean the target finger by washing your hands, especially if you've handled skin lotion, any food or glucose tablets. If you are Continue reading >>
7 Ways To Make Blood-sugar Testing Less Painful
No more sore fingers You need to prick your finger to obtain a drop of blood for home blood-glucose monitoring. Does it hurt? Some people say yes, but they've gotten used to it. Others say they find it virtually painless. Only you can decide. But here are 7 tried-and-true methods for making it less painful. Find out what works for you When Nancy Chiller Janow, age 54, was first diagnosed with type 2, her endocrinologist "punctured me so hard in the middle of the finger pad, that I never wanted to test again," she says. "It really hurt." Janow's internist recommended she experiment to find a more comfortable spot. "I did and finally found that testing on the side of the pad, close to the nail, is the most comfortable," she says. "I often use my thumb. Maybe because that's more callused, it's more comfortable and doesn't hurt when I stick it." Avoid pricking the finger’s tip This part of the finger is especially sensitive and can be more painful than other parts of your finger. Aim for the side of your finger. Fingertips are a poor choice because they tend to have more nerve endings, says Nadine Uplinger, director of the Gutman Diabetes Institute at Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia. "We teach people to monitor on the sides of their fingers, not down by the knuckle but up by the nail bed on the fleshy part and not on the tips," she says. "Another thing to do is pinch or put pressure on where you're going to test to seal it and that seems to minimize pain." Continue reading >>
The 10 Worst Mistakes You Make When Checking Your Sugar
Even if your hands don’t look dirty, when you don’t wash them before you test, you can screw up your result. Especially if you have handled fruit before testing, a study shows that your result could be way off. When you wash your hands, it’s important to get your hands as hot as you can comfortably stand. The hot water makes it a lot easier to draw enough blood for the test. Researchers recommend that you wash your hands with hot water and soap, dry them, and then check your blood sugar. The most common mistake is not getting enough blood on the test strip. After using dozens of different blood glucose meters since a doctor told me 21 years ago that I have diabetes, I know from my own experience that when I don’t get quite enough blood on the test strip, the result the meter reports will be off. When you don’t get your hands hot enough, you have to squeeze your finger a lot to get enough blood. When you do that, you are getting some interstitial fluid rather than blood. A study shows that this “may lead to unreliable readings." Even though some blood glucose meter manufacturers think that you should clean your fingers with alcohol, this is a bad mistake. The experts say that this will give you a test result that it too low. Don’t test on the pad of any of your fingers, because you have more nerve endings there. Testing there is more likely to be painful both while you’re testing and also later when you use that finger for typing or anything else. Find out which sides of which fingers have the best blood flow. For me its the outside of my little fingers. If you test a lot, it’s a good idea to change the test site in a regular sequence. Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that old test strips give inaccurate reading Continue reading >>
Does Hand Sanitizer Impact Blood Glucose Readings?
A few weeks ago I had breakfast with Jessica Apple at a cafe near Bryant Park in New York City. I perused the menu and was tempted by the list of carby desserts masquerading as “brunch.” Nevertheless, I ordered the quiche. Jess did too. I was in good company. I was ready to test my blood sugar and bolus. But after riding the subway and handling menus, I was desperate to clean my hands before pricking my finger. I guess you could call me a germaphobic diabetic. Not the most charming description, but I’ll take it. Invisible germs scare me. That is why I avoid public restrooms. Of course, that’s where most restaurants keep the soap and water, but I always feel dirtier on my way out of the restroom than I did when I walked in. Even if the faucet has an automatic sensor, I still have to touch the door handle when I exit. I know the tricks. Hold it with a paper towel. Pry it open with your shoe. Wait for a fearless person who scoffs at germs to hold the door for you. But still. Thankfully I had packed hand sanitizer in my bag. No need to plan a restroom escape. I pulled it out and squirted a few drops onto my hands. I offered a squeeze to Jess and she happily cleaned her hands, too. I went on to test my blood sugar. It’s always a treat to dine with other people with diabetes (especially germ-conscious ones). You don’t have to prick your finger under the table, or even worse, in the dirty bathroom. And you don’t have to explain your food choices. After lathering up the hand sanitizer, Jess had an interesting thought: she wondered if the hand sanitizer could impact blood glucose readings. It was a great question that I never considered. I decided to find out. *** Over the course of a week, I completed ten back-to-back blood sugar tests to see if hand sanitizer aff Continue reading >>
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Self-monitoring Of Blood Glucose: The Use Of The First Or The Second Drop Of Blood
Go to: Abstract There is no general agreement regarding the use of the first or second drop of blood for glucose monitoring. This study investigated whether capillary glucose concentrations, as measured in the first and second drops of blood, differed ≥10% compared with a control glucose concentration in different situations. Capillary glucose concentrations were measured in two consecutive drops of blood in the following circumstances in 123 patients with diabetes: without washing hands, after exposing the hands to fruit, after washing the fruit-exposed hands, and during application of different amounts of external pressure around the finger. The results were compared with control measurements. Not washing hands led to a difference in glucose concentration of ≥10% in the first and in the second drops of blood in 11% and 4% of the participants, respectively. In fruit-exposed fingers, these differences were found in 88% and 11% of the participants, respectively. Different external pressures led to ≥10% differences in glucose concentrations in 5–13% of the participants. We recommend washing the hands with soap and water, drying them, and using the first drop of blood for self-monitoring of blood glucose. If washing hands is not possible, and they are not visibly soiled or exposed to a sugar-containing product, it is acceptable to use the second drop of blood after wiping away the first drop. External pressure may lead to unreliable readings. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is an important part of diabetes care. The purpose of SMBG is to provide a timely and reliable assessment of blood glucose concentrations in an individual in order to be able to make adequate decisions in relation to diet, exercise, and medication (1,2). There are several aspects concern Continue reading >>
How To Check Your Blood Sugar
GENERAL INFORMATION: Why do I need to check my blood sugar level? High blood sugar levels increase your risk for heart attack, stroke, eye problems, and kidney problems. You can decrease your risk of these problems by controlling your blood sugar levels. Low blood sugar levels can also lead to serious health problems and must be treated right away. Check your blood sugar to help you learn how food, exercise, stress, and medicines affect your levels. Keep a record of your blood sugar levels. It can be used to adjust your meal plan, exercise routine, insulin doses, or diabetes medicine if needed. How do I check my blood sugar level? Check your blood sugar level with a glucose meter. This device uses a small drop of blood to measure your blood sugar level. Some glucose meters take the sample from your finger with a special lancet device. Other meters use blood from your thigh, forearm, or the palm of your hand. Blood sugar levels change quickly after meals, after you take insulin, during exercise, and when you feel stressed or ill. It is best to use blood from your finger to check your blood sugar level during these times. Your healthcare provider will teach you how to use a glucose meter to check your blood sugar level. Ask your healthcare provider for more information about taking blood samples from areas other than your finger. How do I choose a blood glucose meter? There many different types of meters and test strips. Healthcare providers will help you choose the best meter for you. Ask yourself the following questions when you shop for a glucose meter: Is the meter the right size for you? Is it easy for you to see the numbers in the display area? Does the meter seem easy to use? Is it easy to get supplies for the meter if you are traveling? Does the meter have a memor Continue reading >>
Home Blood Glucose Test
A A A Test Overview A home blood glucose test measures the amount of a type of sugar, called glucose, in your blood at the time of testing. The test can be done at home or anywhere, using a small portable machine called a blood glucose meter. Home blood sugar testing can be used to monitor your blood sugar levels. Talk with your doctor about how often to check your blood sugar. How often you need to check it depends on your diabetes treatment, how well your diabetes is controlled, and your overall health. People who take insulin to control their diabetes may need to check their blood sugar level several times a day. Testing blood sugar at home is often called home blood sugar monitoring or self-testing. If you use insulin rarely or don't use it at all, blood sugar testing can be very helpful in learning how your body reacts to foods, illness, stress, exercise, medicines, and other activities. Testing before and after eating can help you adjust what you eat. Some types of glucose meters can store hundreds of glucose readings. This allows you to review collected glucose readings over time and to predict glucose levels at certain times of the day. It also allows you to quickly spot any major changes in your glucose levels. Some of these systems also allow information to be saved to a computer so that it can be turned into a graph or another easily analyzed form. Some newer models of home glucose meters can communicate with insulin pumps. Insulin pumps are machines that deliver insulin through the day. The meter helps to decide how much insulin you need to keep your blood sugar level in your target range. Why It Is Done A home blood glucose test is an accurate way to measure your blood sugar level at the time of testing. If you have diabetes, testing your blood glucose leve Continue reading >>
- Home blood glucose test: How to test for diabetes at home
- Postprandial Blood Glucose Is a Stronger Predictor of Cardiovascular Events Than Fasting Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Particularly in Women: Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes Study
- Home remedies lower blood glucose levels preventing diabetes
Blood Glucose Self-monitoring: Part 2
Monitoring Technique This article is part two of a four-part series on blood glucose self-monitoring. The first installment, “Part 1: The Gear,” can be found here. To measure the concentration of glucose in your blood, you put a strip in the meter, poke a hole in your finger to get a sample of blood, touch the tip of the test strip to the drop of blood, and wait for the result. It sounds pretty straightforward. But, of course, the devil is in the details. Setting up Let’s start at the start. Once you have your meter, strips, lancing device, and lancet assembled, what’s the first thing you should do? While there’s no right or wrong answer, the most efficient way to get started is to put a strip in the meter. Once the strip is in the meter and, if it’s a coded meter, the code has flashed, the meter will do a self-test and then signal that it’s ready for a blood sample. The amount of time a meter takes to do its self-test varies by brand and model. This self-test is the main reason it’s more efficient to turn on the meter by inserting a strip first, before you lance your finger for a blood sample. It’s better to have the meter waiting for your blood than to have blood drying on your finger while you get the meter ready. Speaking of getting a blood sample… Lancing issues The next step in measuring your blood glucose is to get some blood for the meter, and thus we arrive at one of the debates surrounding self-monitoring of blood glucose: Do you first need to clean your finger with an alcohol pad? The answer is no. At one time, cleaning the lancing site with alcohol was the standard recommendation for self-monitoring. This advice stemmed from unsubstantiated worries about infection from the environment. But times have changed, and the evidence simply does Continue reading >>
- Postprandial Blood Glucose Is a Stronger Predictor of Cardiovascular Events Than Fasting Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Particularly in Women: Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes Study
- International Textbook of Diabetes Mellitus, 4th Ed., Excerpt #82: Insulin Actions In Vivo: Glucose Metabolism Part 9 of 9
- Exercise and Glucose Metabolism in Persons with Diabetes Mellitus: Perspectives on the Role for Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Finger Sticking Techniques
(This article appeared in the Voice of the Diabetic, Volume 16, Number 2, Spring 2001 Edition, published by the Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation of the Blind. Updated July 2004) We know blood glucose monitoring is important because it helps us keep our diabetes under control. You should test often. How you test matters too, as poor technique wastes strips and can give you inaccurate readings. Good testing techniques will also minimize the number of times we must stick our fingers. If you have not achieved good finger-sticking techniques, I recommend the old adage, Practice makes perfect. I am a type 1 diabetic, and I empathize with individuals whose fingertips are bruised and sore from testing, and with others who have trouble getting enough blood from the puncture site. Test strips are extremely expensive, and it is frustrating for people who must stick themselves over and over while trying to get enough blood for a good reading. Finger Sticking Locations You should generally use the sides of your fingers for sticking sites. More nerves are present in the center of fingers, so lancing in this location may bring more pain. Note several glucose monitors now allow "alternative site" testing - but their instructions specify that critical readings should be taken frm the fingers. I use all ten fingers for blood sugar testing, and on each finger I have four penetration sites. Some people occasionally use the middle of a finger if the sides have become too sore. Ann S. Williams, MSN, RN, CDE, herself a type 2 diabetic, chooses her test sites by day of the week and time of day. Her left index finger is for Monday, left middle finger for Tuesday, left ring finger for Wednesday, etc. On each finger, the side toward the thumb, opposite the base of the fingernail Continue reading >>
Monitoring Your Blood Sugar Level
What tests can I use to check my blood sugar level? There are 2 blood tests that can help you manage your diabetes. One of these tests is called an A1C test, which reflects your blood sugar (or blood glucose) control over the past 2-3 months. Testing your A1C level every 3 months is the best way for you and your doctor to understand how well your blood sugar levels are controlled. Your A1C goal will be determined by your doctor, but it is generally less than 7%. The other test is called SMBG, or self-monitoring of blood glucose. Using a blood glucose monitor to do SMBG testing can help you improve control of your blood sugar levels. The results you get from an SMBG test can help you make appropriate adjustments to your medicine, diet and/or level of physical activity. Every person who has diabetes should have a blood glucose monitor (also called a home blood sugar meter, a glucometer, or a glucose meter) and know how to use it. Your doctor may prescribe a blood glucose monitor. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved meters that work without pricking your finger. But these meters cannot replace regular glucose meters. They are used to get additional readings between regular testing. What supplies do I need? You will need a glucose meter, alcohol pads, sterile finger lancets and sterile test strips. Check with your health insurance plan to see if they will pay for these supplies. How do I pick a glucose meter? Check with your health insurance plan to see if they will pay for your glucose meter. If so, your plan may only pay for a certain meter. If your insurance plan doesn’t pay for glucose meters, ask your doctor which meters he or she recommends. Shop around and compare costs. Consider what features are important to you. For example, some meters are Continue reading >>
A Diabetic’s Guide To Blood Glucose Monitoring
If you have diabetes you likely already know the importance of blood glucose monitoring, also called blood sugar testing. Blood sugar testing makes you aware of your blood sugar levels. It is a crucial part of treating and living with diabetes. Knowing when your blood sugar level has risen or fallen can help prevent emergencies. Another important aspect of blood glucose monitoring is finding patterns. If you not only record your blood glucose readings but also your exercise, food and medicines, you will be able to see how some surprising things can affect your blood glucose levels. It can be done in minutes using an at-home blood sugar meter or blood glucose monitor. How to Test Your Blood Glucose If you are new to testing your blood glucose or could just use a set of step-by-step instructions, here is a good place to begin: Wash your hands thoroughly. This includes using warm, soapy water and getting them completely dry with a clean towel. Swab the finger you’re going to prick with an alcohol swab (optional). Let the area dry completely. The lancet device is the spring-loaded needle holder. Prepare it by inserting a clean needle. Take one test strip out of the box and make sure to close the box afterwards. You don’t want to contaminate the other strips with dirt or moisture! If you have a modern meter, you will need to insert the strip into the meter before you collect blood. With some of the older ones, you put the blood on the strip before placing the strip in the meter. Using the lancet, prick the side of your fingertip. Note: please read the manual beforehand, as some machines let you test on different parts of your body. Collect a blood droplet on the test strip, making sure that your skin doesn’t touch the strip. If your skin touches it then any food residu Continue reading >>
Healthwise
Test Overview A home blood glucose test measures the amount of a type of sugar, called glucose, in your blood at the time of testing. The test can be done at home or anywhere, using a small portable machine called a blood glucose meter. Home blood sugar testing can be used to monitor your blood sugar levels. Talk with your doctor about how often to check your blood sugar. How often you need to check it depends on your diabetes treatment, how well your diabetes is controlled, and your overall health. People who take insulin to control their diabetes may need to check their blood sugar level often. Testing blood sugar at home is often called home blood sugar monitoring or self-testing. If you use insulin rarely or don't use it at all, blood sugar testing can be very helpful in learning how your body reacts to foods, illness, stress, exercise, medicines, and other activities. Testing before and after eating can help you adjust what you eat. Some types of glucose meters can store hundreds of glucose readings. This allows you to review collected glucose readings over time and to predict glucose levels at certain times of the day. It also allows you to quickly spot any major changes in your glucose levels. Some of these systems also allow information to be saved to a computer so that it can be turned into a graph or another easily analyzed form. Some newer models of home glucose meters can communicate with insulin pumps. Insulin pumps are machines that deliver insulin through the day. The meter helps to decide how much insulin you need to keep your blood sugar level in your target range. Continue reading >>
