【Learning Points】
- Learn to use a blood glucose machine to test yourself to ensure your blood sugar levels are within the normal range.
- Understand the role of urine ketone testing in diabetes management, especially in the presence of nausea, vomiting, infection, trauma, or elevated blood sugar, and promptly check urine ketone values.
I. Blood glucose self-test
- Why do we need to test blood glucose by ourselves?
The blood glucose test may let you know whether your blood glucose is controlled within the normal range. Either your diet is insufficient, or over-exercise, or overdose of medications, you may feel general weakness, palpitation, or have cold sweating, at this time, 15 grams of sugary food should be taken immediately to increase your blood glucose. If you feel more severe thirsty, polyuria and fatigued than before, then you should check your blood glucose. The occurrence of high or low blood sugar indicates the need to redistribute the amount of food and exercise, you should ask your doctor whether to adjust the oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin dose. If the value of your blood glucose test always falls into normal range, it simply indicates that your blood glucose control is appropriate.
- How do I test my blood sugar?
- What is the timing and frequency for blood glucose test?
- If the blood glucose is stable, do the blood glucose test before breakfast and before bedtime at least once per week.
- If the blood glucose is not so stable, then it is necessary to conduct at least four times, i.e., before three meals and bedtime, per day.
- If consciously having sweating, hunger, dizziness and other uncomfortable symptoms, then it is necessary to conduct blood glucose immediately in order to verify high or low blood glucose levels.
- To conduct blood glucose test before breakfast, it is necessary to fast from midnight till the test time next morning. No food or beverage is allowed. A minimal amount of water is acceptable, if really thirsty.
- What is the normal value for blood glucose?
All these self-test results of blood glucose may serve as a reference for the doctors making treatments strategies(Treatment target should be tailored to the clinical condition of diabetes patients).
II.Urine ketones self-test
- Why do we need to test urine ketones by ourselves?
When insulin secretion deficiency leads to the failure of glucose entering the cells to provide energy, and lipolysis to formation of ketone bodies, ketone bodies may appear in urine i.e. urine ketones. Urine ketones is a sign of poorly controlled diabetes.
- When to test urine ketones?
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Trauma, infections, surgical operation.
- Fasting blood glucose value in the morning above 250mg/dL or a random blood glucose value above 300mg/dL.
- How do I test urine ketones?
III.Conclusion
Self-monitoring of blood glucose and urine ketones is an important tool for blood glucose control, as it allows for early detection and prevention of high and low blood glucose complications.
IV.References
- 蔡淑梅、曾錦瑋(2021)‧內分泌系統病人的護理‧林貴滿等,內外科護理技術 (九版,201-205頁)‧華杏。
- 劉棻、鄭惠珍(2021).內分泌和代謝功能障礙之護理‧於陳麗敏總校閱‧內外科護理技術 (六版,75-80頁).新文京開發。