Measuring blood glucose requires attention to the point at which it is monitored and the timing, as needed.
Monitoring is an important part of diabetes management and an important tool for detecting hypoglycemia. There are ways to test for venous plasma glucose and finger capillary glucose, as well as 72-hour continuous ambulatory glucose monitoring in healthcare settings and 15-day continuous transient glucose monitoring in the marketplace. The first of these methods is to test the blood glucose in the bloodstream.
For fasting blood glucose testing, fast for 8-10 hours, don’t eat at 8:00 pm the night before, and test in the morning on an empty stomach, preferably between 6:00 and 9:30 am, when the body’s endocrine hormone levels have reached a relatively stable state.
If you need to test your postprandial glucose, then count the time from the first bite and test 2 hours after eating.
If hypoglycemia is suspected, a finger capillary blood glucose test should be performed immediately to detect hypoglycemia in a timely manner, or if available, an intravenous blood glucose test can be performed at the nearest hospital as soon as possible.