Diabetic Seniors

A sugar test will measure the amount of glucose present in the bloodstream, an important indication for your body’s ability to produce insulin. There are a variety of methods to take a sugar test, and it might be taken on either a specifically empty or full stomach, or sometimes after ingesting a sugared drink.

A whole blood sugar test is available in easy-to-use kits for at-home testing, and requires a small blood sample (usually taken from the fingertip) to be read by a specially designed glucose meter. A fasting plasma sugar test is performed by taking a blood sample from a vein after eight hours of fasting, and will typically be performed in your doctor’s office. A two-hour postprandial sugar test is performed two hours after eating a meal containing a specific amount of sugar, though this method has factors that are hard to control.

The sugar test with which people already diagnosed with diabetes will be most familiar, will be the whole blood sugar test, which can be easily self-administered in your home with proper instruction. This specific sugar test will show daily levels of glucose in your blood and how your specific diet and exercise program affects these levels. The whole blood sugar test will give both you and your doctor important information on how to best design a program to help control your diabetes, making it easier to live a long and rewarding life free from the complications associated with diabetes.

Please be aware that this page on diabetes home testing is meant for informational purposes only, please consult a physician for more specific questions pertaining to individual cases.

Tags: blood glucose, blood glucose testing, blood sugar, blood sugar testing, sugar test