What Is The Normal Blood Sugar Range
Blood sugar measurement is an important part of a diabetic’s daily life. These guidelines will help you measure your blood sugar reliably.
The blood glucose number represents the quantity of glucose in the blood at any particular time, often known as blood sugar. Blood glucose is expressed as a concentration measured in millimoles per liter.
Normally, blood sugar levels remain within a narrow range (approximately 4 to 8 mmol / l) during the day. It is highest after eating and usually lowest when getting up in the morning.
In a person with diabetes, blood sugar may sometimes be too high or too low compared to normal. This is because the body's normal blood sugar control is not working.
Treatment of high blood sugar
When your blood sugar is too high, it is important to get treatment to normalize the situation. When the goal is achieved, "acute" symptoms of diabetes, such as heavy drinking and urination, are avoided. This also prevents ketoacidosis (acid poisoning), which can be a life-threatening condition.
In the long term, the likelihood of having diabetic sequelae is also lowered. These so-called late complications affect blood circulation, nerve function, eyes and kidneys. If the disease has affected the nerves (neuropathy), which usually results in impaired blood circulation, the person is at increased risk of developing poorly healing diabetic foot ulcers.
One important goal of treatment is to keep blood sugar levels stable. Fluctuations in blood sugar levels up and down are not desirable. Patients are particularly concerned about low blood sugar levels. These hypoglycemias or Insulin sensations feel uncomfortable, but they can also cause loss of consciousness and, in really severe cases, brain damage.
How is Blood Sugar Measured?
Blood sugar can be measured very easily and quickly with various devices. There are several types of blood glucose meters and they have their own kind of measuring strips.
The measurement is done by first inserting the measuring strip into the measuring device, then injecting yourself with a finger or forearm with a lancet and allowing the measuring strip to absorb a small amount of blood. After a few seconds, the sugar value can be read on the meter.
Blood glucose meters are sold cheaply, and measuring strips and lancets are free aids.
Development is constantly advancing. There are several products on the market today where different sensors measure blood sugar either continuously or using a wireless meter. This way, the diabetic does not have to inject himself every time he measures his blood sugar.
The ideal blood sugar levels are as follows:
• 4-6 mmol / l before meals
• less than 10 mmol / l after a meal (approx. 1.5 hours)
• increase up to 2 mmol / l after 1.5 hours compared to measurement before a meal
• approx. 7-10 mmol / l at bedtime in type 1 diabetes, preferably less than 7 mmol / l in type 2 diabetes.
How often should blood sugar be measured?
Blood glucose measurements are a flexible way to achieve a good therapeutic balance. They allow the patient to optimize their insulin therapy and adapt it to prevailing conditions such as carbohydrate intake, exercise, stress, and infections.
The premise is that people with type 1 diabetes measure their blood sugar daily before meals just before taking mealtime insulin. If The number of measures can be lowered if the patient's treatment balance is excellent.
Conversely, poor therapeutic balance requires multiple measurements, preferably 90 minutes after a meal, to assess the effect of given insulin. Thus, blood sugar is often measured three to four times a day.
The baseline insulin dose prescribed by your doctor is considered as the starting point for the patient's insulin treatment, which is adjusted if necessary. A prerequisite for this approach is that the patient has the necessary knowledge to understand how insulin therapy works and how the body responds to various changes in treatment.
If necessary, the patient can contact a diabetes nurse to help determine the correct dosage. At the next meal measurement or 90 minutes after a meal, the patient will receive an answer as to whether the previous insulin dose was appropriate.
Daily blood glucose measurements are often the easiest way because then a routine is formed. Forgetting measurements is unlikely because they are related to meal insulin. With this method, diabetes is brought to a satisfactory control.
Patients with type 2 diabetes who are receiving insulin therapy should have their blood glucose measured daily in the morning before breakfast and possibly before other meals, especially if the treatment balance is not satisfactory. A type 2 diabetic treated with diet and exercise and/or tablets should measure the fasting value in the morning before breakfast each day.
The advantage is that when blood sugar is measured in type 2 diabetes every morning, feedback on treatment is obtained at the same time. If your blood sugar is high one morning, it is a sign that some kind of action is needed to hopefully have a good level the next morning. The risk of late complications is much lower if the balance of care is good.
Blood sugar at bedtime
In type 1 diabetes, the blood glucose level at bedtime should preferably be 7 to 10 mmol / l. Thanks to modern insulin therapy, there is a small risk that your blood sugar will fall too low at night (hypoglycemia).
If your blood sugar is low before night, you should consume an extra evening meal. If your blood sugar is very high at bedtime, you can take extra fast-acting insulin.
In type 2 diabetes, the blood glucose level should preferably be less than 7 mmol / l. In type 2 diabetes, blood sugar rarely falls low at night if no insulin treatment is given. If in spite of everything, you are worried, you can put a few times on the clock to wake up and check your glucose in two to three countries at night.
Are there other times when blood sugar needs to be measured?
Blood sugar should be measured if you feel unwell or feel that your blood sugar is either too low or too high.
If you have type 1 diabetes and your blood sugar is high (more than 20 mmol / l), you will need to measure the presence of so-called ketones in your urine with a strip test. Urinary ketones are a warning sign that a person is either developing or has already developed acid poisoning (ketoacidosis) that requires immediate treatment. In such a situation, you should contact your healthcare provider.
What is glycated hemoglobin?
Patients also use glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) as long-term blood sugar. It expresses how much of the hemoglobin (a red dye in red blood cells) is glycated (glucose bound to hemoglobin).
According to the latest national guidelines, HbA1c should be below 52 mmol / ml (IFCC; previously 6% according to Mono S). The sample is taken either as a normal blood sample from the arm or capillary as a home test, which the patient sends to the laboratory for analysis.
HbA1c is a good indicator of what your blood sugar levels have been on average over the past two months.
Values above 63 mmol/mol are too high and represent a clearly increased risk of late complications in the long run.
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