Diabetes: Checking your blood sugar
Why monitor your blood sugar?
Monitoring your blood sugar level takes the guesswork out of your daily diabetes care. Testing your blood sugar at home helps you know:
- When your blood sugar is low. Low blood sugar can lead to an emergency. If your blood sugar drops just below the level that is safe for your body and you quickly eat something containing sugar, your blood sugar will rise and you may prevent an emergency.
- When your blood sugar is high. Over time, high blood sugar levels cause permanent damage to the eyes, heart, kidneys, blood vessels, and nerves. If you are pregnant, high blood sugar levels may cause problems for you and your baby. Low blood sugar levels are even more dangerous for your fetus.
- What your blood sugar level is before a meal. If you take short-acting insulin, you can use these results to determine how much insulin to take.
- How different types of food affect your blood sugar.
- How exercise affects your blood sugar. Exercise usually lowers your blood sugar level.
- What your blood sugar is when you are ill. Severe illness or stress usually causes higher-than-normal blood sugar levels.
- When your medicine for diabetes (insulin) may need adjusting. If your blood sugar levels remain high over a period of time or you have frequent low blood sugar, your medicine for diabetes may need adjusting. Talk to your doctor about this.
Test Your Knowledge
Answer the following question to see if you understand why you need to monitor your blood sugar at home.
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| Author: | Monica Rhodes | Last Updated: January 30, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition Rhonda O'Brien, MS, RD, CDE - Diabetes Educator | |
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