No matter what level of diabetes you are, checking it continuously is the key to religiously follow your diabetic plans. Also, learning how to test your blood sugar at home easily is more important that encourages you to test more often.
For people with diabetes, keeping the readings in control should be the key purpose of staying healthy and living a good life. Readings will help you make the decisions about food, medicine, and exercise. In addition, it will also tell you how often you should visit your doctor. Plus, it aids you in coping with the daily tasks and tells you what process you should choose to live a healthy life fulfilling the regular bodily demands. Also, testing your blood sugar at home will prevent you from future complications.
Here are some best ways to test your results at home for a better outcome and healthy living.
When and How to Test Your Blood Sugar at Home?
Your physician may have guided you for testing your blood sugar at home, maybe to monitor it for a few days regularly for 4 to 5 times a day. If not, here are some standard times on which you should monitor your blood glucose levels.
- Before breakfast
- Before your afternoon and evening meal (lunch/dinner)
- After 120 minutes of the meal
- Before going to bed
- Before and after exercise
- When you feel drowsy
Any other event that requires a blood glucose test includes;
- Meal routine changes while traveling
- On feeling symptoms of high and low blood sugar
- Adjusting and changing to a new insulin medication
- When you are or trying to get pregnant
- After any dental procedure
- Before and after any surgical treatment
- During illness (fever, nausea, high/low blood pressure, etc.)
- Premenstrual
- In stress
A Recommended Place to Test
Wash and pat dry your hands before you test. The best place to test your blood glucose is the side of a finger. Try alternating finger sides, using the same point of the finger will make it difficult to get the blood sample every time you wish to test your blood sugar.
If you are using any blood sugar lancing device like Accu-Chek, you can also use your palm or forearm to take a blood sample for the test. The Accu-check device comes with a cap that is recommended to use on alternate site testing.
Needle Phobia
If you are afraid of the needle and feel anxious or faint while needles are around, then you are not alone. Unluckily, these phobias directly affect the heart of the patient and these fears hinder testing the blood levels regularly.
Since you cannot avoid the medication due to these fears, ask your doctor for alternative ways or make you comfortable with needles. OR;
- Use a lancing device that eases the process of painful testing. The needles of these devices are pointed and coated from the front.
- The tip of the lancing device can become dull if you use it multiple times. It may hurt you more as well. Use a new needle every time you test your blood sugar level, so it gets less painful.
- You can also use insulin pumps which can be used after numbing the section with ice and injecting the insulin. The area of infusion can be changed after every two to three days.
Follow these simple ways to keep your blood sugar normal at home and keep your life healthy as much as possible.
