Glucose is produced by the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar in the body. This is a normal process in a normal person but can the process can be entirely different for a person suffering from diabetes. Patients that suffer from diabetes need to keep an eye on their blood sugar level, which is why they need to undergo regular glucose monitoring.
Blood glucose levels have to be regularly checked for type-2 diabetes patients and their doctors usually recommend a device to read their glucose levels at home. However, a regular blood schedule may be arranged at regular intervals at a clinical laboratory for an absolute measure of your glucose level as regular check-ups using a home kit might not give an accurate result and may be a matter of debate.
When it comes to a clinical lab, people usually shun them and opt for the more convenient home kits that are easier to operate and cost lesser than the laboratory. However, one needs to think over whether glucose at home is actually reliable or not, sidelining the fact that millions of rupees are spent on such kits. A survey has suggested that glucometers are good for indicating the blood sugar level if they have ascended or descended but they cannot be relied for displaying the absolute value of the blood sugar value.
Different glucometers give varied results. Scientists involved in the study had taken into consideration 5 popular glucometers and found that results varied with the same blood sample by 3% to 11% if taken within a short span of few seconds. On the other hand, undergoing a blood in a clinical lab within a short time span gave almost the same result.
However, different glucometers showed different values for the same blood sample with results varying up to 32%. Furthermore, the higher the blood sugar, the more irrelevant the readings were obtained that was not in accordance with the lab results.
It was found that glucometers were dependable only for measuring blood sugar level below 100mg/dL.
Testing for glucose at home is not very accurate but may be used to keep track of the changes in blood sugar level of diabetics and is usually preferred over any other method to keep a daily watch over sugar levels. You may also compare the readings to the clinical laboratory report for sugar level and conclude the accuracy of the readings of your glucometer.
The blood sugar level that you read on your glucometer is always less than the real value of sugar level in your blood. These are some of the reasons why one should consistently get their blood sugar levels checked in a clinical laboratory. Thankfully, there are lots of clinical laboratories in India that give reports at a comparatively lower rate. Baroda Clinical Lab is one such laboratory that provides sugar level that are carried out under expert supervision and modern technology, thus giving you reliable results.
