1. What is blood glucose?

Blood glucose also referred to as blood sugar, is the amount of glucose (sugar) in your blood. This glucose comes from what you eat and drink and the body also releases stored glucose from your liver and muscles.

2. What is blood glucose monitoring?

Testing blood glucose levels is an important tool in managing diabetes and preventing complications. Blood glucose levels have been tested at home with a portable electronic device called a blood glucose meter (glucometer) that only needs a small drop of blood from the finger.
Checking blood glucose levels is the best way to tell how well people living with Type 1 Diabetes are balancing their insulin, sugar from food, and exercise.

3. When to test blood glucose levels?

People with Type 1 Diabetes should test before meals, at bedtime and before sport or exercise. They should also test when they are not feeling well or when they have symptoms of low blood glucose levels (hypoglycaemia) or high blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia).

4. The Importance of checking blood glucose levels.

In people without diabetes, blood glucose levels are stable as the body maintain a normal range. In people with Type 1 Diabetes, blood glucose levels go outside of the normal blood glucose range, resulting in hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia.
If blood glucose levels aren’t managed properly, it will increase the risk of developing serious medical complications such as blindness, heart and kidney disease and loss of limbs through amputation. It will also lead to life-threatening events like diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) and diabetes-induced coma.
Besides helping to keep blood glucose under control, checking blood glucose levels will help you and those with diabetes” to:

• Feel more aware and in control of the condition
• Troubleshoot problems and make changes to the diabetes management plan promptly and effectively
• Manage sick days
• Better understand the impact of food, exercise and medicines on blood sugar levels

HelloType1 content is based on published, internationally recognised guidelines and then reviewed by local experts to ensure it fits local context. The translation is based on simplified English language to ensure it conveys the safest and clearest possible message in regional languages. Basic insulin and blood glucose testing access is still an issue in the South-East Asia region and our chief aim is to address this. HelloType1 content is not intended to replace the advice of individual healthcare professionals but as a collaborative tool to help them improve the outcomes of disadvantaged people with Type 1 Diabetes in the region.