Home Blood Glucose Test: Why It Is Done

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Why It Is Done

A home blood glucose test is an accurate way to measure your blood sugar level at the time of testing. If you have diabetes, testing your blood glucose levels at home provides information about:

• Your blood sugar level. It is important to know when your blood sugar is high or low, to prevent emergency situations from developing. It is also important to treat consistently high blood sugar levels so you can decrease your chances of developing heart, blood vessel, and nerve complications from diabetes.
• How much insulin to take before each meal. If you take rapid-acting or short-acting insulin before meals, the blood sugar test results can help you determine how much insulin to take before each meal. If your blood sugar level is high, you may need extra insulin.If your blood sugar level is low, you may need to eat before you take any insulin.
• How exercise, diet, stress, and being ill affect your blood sugar levels.

Home blood sugar testing also may be used to:

• Determine an initial insulin dose and schedule or to adjust the insulin doses or schedule.
• Test blood sugar levels in people who have symptoms of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).

Last updated:	July 25, 2007
Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Reviewed By:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Alan C. Dalkin, MD - Endocrinology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer