Thursday, August 4, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Alternate Site Testing (AST)
Alternate Site Testing (AST)
Diabetes self testing (also called SMBG – self-monitoring of blood glucose) is a major part of diabetes treatment for people with diabetes.
Blood glucose testing allows you to assess how your treatment of diabetes is affecting your blood glucose levels, using a blood glucose meter.
This allows the ability to make daily treatment choices, including meals, exercise and medication. Of course, if you have type 1 diabetes, your daily routine will include insulin injections. Self-testing gives people with diabetes a chance to understand what changes to make to lifestyle, diet and medication. However, regular self-testing comes with several barriers for some people, including the fact that regular testing sites may become painful over time.
Therefore, diabetes experts have developed alternate site testing (AST) to compensate.
What is Alternate Site Testing?
AST (Alternate Site Testing) means using a part of the body other than the fingertips to obtain blood for blood sugar testing. This may include taking a blood sample from anywhere other than the fingertips, including the palm, the upper forearm, the abdomen, the calf and the thigh.
Fingertips are traditionally used for blood glucose testing because they have many capillaries, and will usually provide a large enough drop of blood to get a reading from a blood glucose meter.
However, the fingertips also have many nerve endings and are therefore sensitive. Many people with diabetes choose to give their fingertips a break, especially if they use them as part of their profession.
Can I use my blood glucose meter for alternate site testing?
Alternate site testing is not possible with all blood glucose meters. Newer machines only require a smaller drop of blood to provide accurate blood glucose readings from other parts of the body. The user manual for blood glucose meters will outline which other sites in the body can be used to obtain a blood sample.
How accurate is alternate site testing?
The fingertips are an obvious site for testing. However, the accuracy of alternate site testing results has been compared by a number of trials in recent years.
According to reports, routine blood glucose level testing before meals or two or more hours after meals from alternate sites are equivalent to fingertip testing.
However, glucose arrives faster in the fingertips than in the arms, so testing when blood glucose is falling rapidly or rising rapidly is likely to be less accurate from alternate sites.
Unfortunately, this could be quite dangerous and healthcare professionals advise using the fingertips for non-routine blood glucose testing. Many experienced people with diabetes advocate changing their testing sites depending on the type of testing underway.
Diabetes self testing (also called SMBG – self-monitoring of blood glucose) is a major part of diabetes treatment for people with diabetes.
Blood glucose testing allows you to assess how your treatment of diabetes is affecting your blood glucose levels, using a blood glucose meter.
This allows the ability to make daily treatment choices, including meals, exercise and medication. Of course, if you have type 1 diabetes, your daily routine will include insulin injections. Self-testing gives people with diabetes a chance to understand what changes to make to lifestyle, diet and medication. However, regular self-testing comes with several barriers for some people, including the fact that regular testing sites may become painful over time.
Therefore, diabetes experts have developed alternate site testing (AST) to compensate.
What is Alternate Site Testing?
AST (Alternate Site Testing) means using a part of the body other than the fingertips to obtain blood for blood sugar testing. This may include taking a blood sample from anywhere other than the fingertips, including the palm, the upper forearm, the abdomen, the calf and the thigh.
Fingertips are traditionally used for blood glucose testing because they have many capillaries, and will usually provide a large enough drop of blood to get a reading from a blood glucose meter.
However, the fingertips also have many nerve endings and are therefore sensitive. Many people with diabetes choose to give their fingertips a break, especially if they use them as part of their profession.
Can I use my blood glucose meter for alternate site testing?
Alternate site testing is not possible with all blood glucose meters. Newer machines only require a smaller drop of blood to provide accurate blood glucose readings from other parts of the body. The user manual for blood glucose meters will outline which other sites in the body can be used to obtain a blood sample.
How accurate is alternate site testing?
The fingertips are an obvious site for testing. However, the accuracy of alternate site testing results has been compared by a number of trials in recent years.
According to reports, routine blood glucose level testing before meals or two or more hours after meals from alternate sites are equivalent to fingertip testing.
However, glucose arrives faster in the fingertips than in the arms, so testing when blood glucose is falling rapidly or rising rapidly is likely to be less accurate from alternate sites.
Unfortunately, this could be quite dangerous and healthcare professionals advise using the fingertips for non-routine blood glucose testing. Many experienced people with diabetes advocate changing their testing sites depending on the type of testing underway.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Nine Tips To Make Testing Less Painful
Did you know there are 9 simple steps that you can take to make testing your blood glucose a lot less painful?
At the moment, to accurately check our blood glucose the only way to do this, is to prick our fingers and check the resulting blood for glucose.
Pain is caused by the penetration of the lancet into the skin. The deeper the lancet penetrates the skin the more painful the testing but the more blood is provided for testing. If you need more blood for testing then the lancet will need to penetrate deeper.
The tips below focus on ways to get more blood out when you prick your finger with a lancet so that it does not need to penetrate the skin deeply and thus makes it a lot less painful!
1) Wash your hands with soap and warm water - this will help keep the testing site clean and help dilate the blood vessels in the fingers to increase blood flow.
2) Massage your finger downwards to the tip of your finger - this will help push blood towards the tip of your finger so that when it is pricked there is plenty of blood there ready to come out.
3) Have your testing hand pointing downwards below your waist - blood will flow more easily when following gravity downwards.
4) Set your lancing device - lancing devices have different settings to pierce the skin at different depths. If you use the tips in this article you should find that you will be able to use a lower setting but still have enough blood for testing. Try changing the settings to find the right level.
5) Select the right meter - different blood glucose meters require different amounts of blood to carry out a blood glucose testing. The less blood needed the less painful testing will be. Choose a meter that requires only a small testing sample such as the GlucoDr.Plus(AGM 3000)which needs only 1.5 microliter.
6) Alternate your fingers - don't use the same finger over and over again. You have 8 fingers distribute the testing evenly. You'll find your fingers will recover much faster and blood flow will be better.
7) Moisturise your fingers - harden skin through regular testing can reduce blood flow out when pricked. Help your skin repair and your fingers recover. Regularly moisture your fingers.
8) Prick the tip of your fingers - better blood flow at the tip of your finger so best place to test.
9) Use a new lancet each time! - a lancet is designed only to be used once. Once used it becomes blunt and if re-used it can be very painful.
These tips should help make testing a lot less painful.
Taking Control Of Pre-diabetes
Pre-diabetes occurs when your body improperly metabolizes glucose or sugar. One of your body's daily functions is to take sugar and transfer it to your cells for energy. When you have pre-diabetes this sugar builds up in your bloodstream rather than traveling to your cells. This happens when your body does not respond to the effects of insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas that is responsible for monitoring the movement of sugar into the body's cells), or your pancreas are not making enough insulin. It can also occur due to a combination of both factors.
While the cause of pre-diabetes is not fully understood there are risk factors, such as those listed below, which can contribute to the development of the disease.
* Having a body mass index above 25 and/or high blood pressure
* Being over the age of 45
* Having a family history of type 2 diabetes
* Getting less than 5 ½ hours of sleep at night
* Having given birth to a baby weighing nine pounds or more and/or having gestational diabetes during your pregnancy
* Being African American, Hispanic, American Indian or Asian
* Getting less than three days of physical activity each week
* Having a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome
The Good News…You Can Take Control of Your Pre-Diabetes Destiny.
By incorporating the following healthy lifestyle changes into your daily routine you can prevent pre-diabetes, delay its progression and/or return your blood sugar levels to a normal range.
* Get moving. In addition to lowering your blood sugar and helping your body use insulin more effectively, exercise can help you maintain a healthy body weight. Ideally, you should strive for 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity at least five days per week. If finding time is an issue, you can break up your workouts into smaller sessions several times a day.
* Eat right. Choosing foods that are low in fat and high in fiber can help your body shed extra pounds and control blood sugar. High fiber foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and beans.
* Maintain a healthy weight. Losing at least five to ten percent of your current body weight (if you are overweight) has the potential to reverse pre-diabetes. Establishing a regular exercise routine, monitoring your calorie intake and making healthy food choices are essential to long-term weight loss and maintenance.
* Get your rest. Recent studies show that getting at least six hours of sleep each night can reduce the insulin resistance that often accompanies pre-diabetes.
Small inprovements in diet and exercise can help you gain the momentum you need to make important improvements in your overall health.
While the cause of pre-diabetes is not fully understood there are risk factors, such as those listed below, which can contribute to the development of the disease.
* Having a body mass index above 25 and/or high blood pressure
* Being over the age of 45
* Having a family history of type 2 diabetes
* Getting less than 5 ½ hours of sleep at night
* Having given birth to a baby weighing nine pounds or more and/or having gestational diabetes during your pregnancy
* Being African American, Hispanic, American Indian or Asian
* Getting less than three days of physical activity each week
* Having a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome
The Good News…You Can Take Control of Your Pre-Diabetes Destiny.
By incorporating the following healthy lifestyle changes into your daily routine you can prevent pre-diabetes, delay its progression and/or return your blood sugar levels to a normal range.
* Get moving. In addition to lowering your blood sugar and helping your body use insulin more effectively, exercise can help you maintain a healthy body weight. Ideally, you should strive for 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity at least five days per week. If finding time is an issue, you can break up your workouts into smaller sessions several times a day.
* Eat right. Choosing foods that are low in fat and high in fiber can help your body shed extra pounds and control blood sugar. High fiber foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and beans.
* Maintain a healthy weight. Losing at least five to ten percent of your current body weight (if you are overweight) has the potential to reverse pre-diabetes. Establishing a regular exercise routine, monitoring your calorie intake and making healthy food choices are essential to long-term weight loss and maintenance.
* Get your rest. Recent studies show that getting at least six hours of sleep each night can reduce the insulin resistance that often accompanies pre-diabetes.
Small inprovements in diet and exercise can help you gain the momentum you need to make important improvements in your overall health.
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