Blood Glucose Test
When it comes to blood glucose tests, there are two major methods for determining one’s levels. The first means of blood glucose testing is that of a chemical method. The way this works is that the chemical strip contains a reducing chemical on it designed to reduce the glucose in the blood sample resulting in the strip changing colours. Of course there are many other components in the blood stream that can be reduced, which can result in erroneous readings. For patients dealing with uraemia, their urea blood levels can be high enough to off-set the results. Luckily a more recent technique actually uses the specific glucose enzyme to develop the coloured results which is far less susceptible to erroneous results. Both of these forms of the blood glucose test are reliant on chemical coated testing strips. Each type of meter has its very own test strip and no two are interchangeable. In the cheaper testing method, there is no real meter, but rather the strip is coated with one’s blood, after a set period of time the excess blood is wiped away reviewing the colour change of the strip which is then checked against a colour wheel. However there is a great chance of errors and therefore this particular method is not readily used in most places. There is also the blood glucose test in which the person’s urine is used as the testing fluid. When a person has a properly functioning set of kidneys, glucose levels will not be apparent until after the renal threshold is reached. As a result, this form of test will show a severe hyperglycaemic condition even though it does not really exist. The urine type test is not accurate as the results are time delayed and therefore the proper injection of insulin can not be administered in a safe period of time. When it comes down to the blood glucose test, the most current forms which use a numerical readout are considered to be the most accurate. These new meters require very minute amounts of blood to create accurate results and therefore the pain associated with the pricking of the finger is much smaller and the results are returned within a matter of only seconds. When it comes to a blood glucose test, every second counts so the sooner and easier that you can get your results the better.
| Path: IBP: Blood Glucose: Test: |
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