A blood sugar test is a laboratory test that is prescribed to any person during a diagnostic examination. This analysis is prescribed not only for a routine examination of a patient who has come to the clinic, but also for examination of organs in the field of endocrinology, surgery, and general therapy. The analysis is carried out in order to:

• find out the state of carbohydrate metabolism;
• find out general indicators;
• confirm or deny the presence of diabetes mellitus;
• find out the glucose indicators in a person.

If the sugar level has some deviation from the norm, then they may additionally prescribe analysis on glycated hemoglobin and glucose sensitivity(2 hour sugar loading sample test).

What level of reference values ​​is considered the norm?

You can find out the result of the analysis after a day has passed from the moment of blood sampling. If an urgent analysis is scheduled in the clinic (marked with "cito!", Which means "quickly"), then the analysis result will be ready in a few minutes.

Normal blood sugar in an adult varies between 3.88 to 6.38 mmol per liter... If the indicator exceeds the upper limit of the norm, then this usually indicates the development of hyperglycemia or type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Antiemetics should prevent or significantly alleviate such ailments. If nausea and vomiting persist despite antiemetics, your doctor will prescribe more effective medications. Your doctor will prescribe medications for constipation. You should drink plenty of fluids, eat fiber-rich foods, and exercise. Persistent constipation and abdominal pain should be reported to your doctor or nurse.

Fatigue is often associated with patients undergoing chemotherapy, especially at the end of treatment and several weeks after the end of treatment. Don't overdo it and get as much rest as possible. Low are allowed physical exercise and short walks. If you feel drowsy, do not operate or operate machines.

The condition when the body does not have enough glucose is called hypoglycemia. Low indicators, as well as overestimated ones, may indicate not only a disease, but also some physiological indicators. An increased blood sugar level will be observed immediately after eating a meal, and reduced level indicates prolonged fasting. Also, short-term hypoglycemia can be observed in diabetics who have recently injected themselves with insulin.

In newborn babies, the norm ranges from 2.8 to 4.4 mmol per liter, and in older children 3.3 to 5.5 mmol per liter.

Values ​​table:

All of the above values ​​are often the same in laboratory and diagnostic centers, but nevertheless, some reference indicators may differ in different clinics, since diagnostic markers are different. Therefore, the rate of values, first of all, will depend on the laboratory.

When is the decryption considered incorrect?

False reference values ​​and incorrect interpretation are the result of poor preparation of a person for laboratory analysis.

Be sure to donate blood only in the morning on an empty stomach. The increased level may occur after severe nervous stress or exhausting physical activity.

In extreme conditions, the adrenal glands begin to work hard and release counterinsular hormones, as a result of which a large amount of glucose is released from the liver, which enters the bloodstream. Regular use of certain types of medications can cause high blood sugar levels.

Some diuretics (diuretics), hormones increase sugar levels thyroid gland, estrogens, glucocorticosteroids, some types of nonsteroidal analgesics. Therefore, if a person regularly takes such drugs or has recently taken them before the analysis, then the attending physician should definitely inform about this. If there were no disturbing factors in testing and preparation for it, then deviations from the norm in decoding the values ​​require additional testing.

What should be the correct preparation for donating blood?

To obtain the most accurate result, you must carefully prepare for the delivery of tests. For this:

• the day before the tests, you need to stop drinking alcohol;
• in the morning before delivery, it is allowed to use only clean water, and eight or twelve hours before the measurement of the indicator, you must completely limit the use of food;
• it is forbidden to brush your teeth in the morning, because the toothpaste contains a monosaccharide (glucose), which penetrates through the mucous membrane oral cavity into the body, can change the level of the obtained value (few people know about this rule);
• Do not chew sutra chewing gum.

The blood is drawn from the finger. You can find out your indicators at home, but this requires a glucometer. The result is often inaccurate because the reagent test strips will slightly oxidize when exposed to air, which distorts the result.

Causes of the increased content of monosaccharide

For reasons high content blood sugar include:

1. eating food before delivery;
2. emotional, nervous, physical stress;
3. diseases of the pituitary gland, adrenal glands, pineal gland, thyroid gland;
4. epilepsy;
5. diseases of the pancreas and digestive tract;
6. taking certain medications (insulin, adrenaline, estrogen, thyroxine, diuretics, corticosteroids, glucocorticosteroids, a nicotinic acid, indomethacin);
7. carbon monoxide poisoning;
8. the development of diabetes.

The reasons for the low content of monosaccharide

1. a strong feeling of hunger;
2. severe alcohol poisoning;
3. organ diseases gastrointestinal tract(sharp or chronic pancreatitis, enteritis, side effects that sometimes develop after surgery on the stomach);
4. severe violation of metabolic processes in the human body;
5. liver disease (obesity, cirrhosis);
6. a clear form of obesity;
7. tumor-like neoplasms in the pancreas;
8. disturbances in the activity of blood vessels;
9. central and peripheral diseases nervous system, stroke;
10. sarcoidosis;
11. acute poisoning rat poison or chloroform;
12. in the presence of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia develops after an overdose of exogenous insulin or sugar-reducing drugs. Also, a diabetic will experience hypoglycemia when vomiting after eating or due to skipping meals.

Subjective signs of increased glucose in the body

An increased content of a monosaccharide in the body often leads to the development of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Signs of developing type 1 diabetes include:

1. a strong and chronic feeling of thirst, the patient can drink about five liters of water per day;
2. from the mouth of such a person smells strongly of acetone;
3. a person feels a constant feeling of hunger, eats a lot, but, moreover, is very thin;
4. due to the large amount of liquid drunk, polyuria develops, a constant desire to release the contents Bladder, especially at night;
5. any damage to the skin does not heal well;
6. the skin on the body often itches, chronically fungus or furunculosis appears.

Very often, type 1 diabetes begins to develop a few weeks after a recent viral disease(measles, rubella, flu) or severe nervous shock. According to statistics, a quarter of those with type 1 diabetes do not notice any symptoms of the development of a terrible pathology. Often it happens that the sick person falls into a hyperglycemic coma, and only then in the hospital he is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Symptoms of the development of type II hyperglycemia

This disease develops in stages over a couple of years. Usually affects people closer to old age. The sick person constantly experiences a deterioration in well-being, a state of weakness, wounds on the body do not heal well, vision deteriorates, memory suffers. Few people think that this is the development of hyperglycemia, so doctors usually diagnose it in patients by chance. The symptoms are as follows:

1. Memory problems, blurred vision, increased fatigue.
2. Skin problems: itching, fungus, wounds do not heal well.
3. Intense thirst + polyuria.
4. Women have chronic thrush that is difficult to treat.
5. In the terminal stages of the disease, a person begins to lose weight a lot.
6. There are ulcers on the legs, feet, it hurts to walk, the legs go numb, tingling is felt.
7. In half of the patients, the pathology is asymptomatic.
8. Hyperglycemia can often be accompanied by kidney disease, sudden strokes or heart attacks, and loss of vision.

Your body's normal functioning depends on how stable your blood sugar levels are. When we consume sugar or carbohydrates, the body converts them into glucose. Our body uses it as energy to provide various functions, ranging from the work of neurons or nerve cells in the brain, ending with the processes occurring at the cellular level.

What is sugar level

Blood sugar is the amount of glucose in your blood. The value of glucose (sugar - hereinafter referred to as) in the blood is most often measured in millimoles per liter or in milligrams per deciliter. For humans, the blood sugar rate ranges from 3.6 mmol / L (65 mg / dL) to 5.8 mmol / L (105 mg / dL). Of course, the exact meaning is individual for everyone.

How the body controls blood sugar

It is very important that the sugar level is normal. It should not be allowed to be slightly higher or slightly lower, if it falls heavily and goes beyond the normal range, the consequences can be very serious, such as:

• Confusion, loss of consciousness and subsequent coma.
• If the sugar is high, it may darken and blur before your eyes, you will feel very tired.

Principles of regulation

If the blood sugar is between 3.6 and 5.8 mmol / L or 65 and 105 mg / dL then it is said to be normal level blood sugar healthy person.

To maintain blood sugar levels, our pancreas produces two different hormones that keep it on the right level Is insulin and glucagon (polypeptide hormone).

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone produced by cells in the pancreas that is released in response to glucose. Insulin is needed by most of the cells in our body, including: fat cells, muscle cells, liver cells. It is a protein (protein), which consists of 51 types of amino acids and performs the following functions:

• Tells muscle and liver cells to accumulate converted glucose as glucogen.
• Helps fat cells generate fat through glycerin and fatty acids.
• Instructs the kidneys and liver to stop the production of their own glucose through a metabolic process (gluconeogenesis).
• Stimulates muscle and liver cells to produce protein from amino acids.

Summing up the above, we can conclude that insulin helps the body absorb nutrients after meals, lowering blood sugar, amino acids and fatty acids levels.

Glucagon

Glucagon is a protein made by alpha cells. When it comes to sugar levels, it has a similar effect on cells, but the opposite of insulin. When sugar levels are low, the glucogen instructs muscle and liver cells to activate glucose in the form of glucogen through glycogenolysis. Stimulates the kidneys and liver to generate their own glucose through gluconeogenesis.

As a result, glucagon collects glucose from various sources within our body in order to maintain it at sufficient level... If this does not happen, then the sugar level becomes very low.

How does the body know when it is necessary to normalize sugar levels?

During the day, a normal balance between insulin and glucogen is maintained in the blood. Let's give an example of what processes occur in the body immediately after eating. After you eat, your body gets amino acids, fatty acids, and glucose from food. The body analyzes them and triggers beta cells in your pancreas to release insulin into your bloodstream. This process tells the pancreas not to secrete glucogen in order to stimulate the body to use glucose as a food source. Insulin rises with sugar levels and directs it to muscle cells, the liver, for use as an energy source. This keeps your blood glucose, amino acids and fatty acid levels from going over and helps keep your blood sugar stable.

There are times when you skip your breakfast or during the night your body needs additional resources to keep your sugar levels in order until your next meal. When you haven't eaten, your cells still need glucose to function properly. When blood sugar drops due to a lack of food, the alpha cells of the pancreas begin to produce glucogen to stop insulin production and instruct the liver and kidneys to metabolize glucose from glucogen stores. This helps to keep blood sugar levels stable and avoid unpleasant health consequences.

Diabetes

Sometimes the body fails, disrupting the metabolic process. As a result, enough insulin ceases to be produced or the cells of our body begin to react incorrectly to it, as a result, the level of sugar in the blood rises. This metabolic disorder is called diabetes mellitus.

What is the normal blood sugar level?

Adults

The glucose concentration on an empty stomach in a healthy person should be between 3.6 and 5.8 mmol / L (65 and 105 mg / dL).

Sutra on an empty stomach, the blood sugar rate in adult men and women should be between 3.8 and 6.0 mmol / L (68 and 108 mg / dL).

Two hours after a meal or drink containing a large amount of carbohydrates, the values ​​should be between 6.7 and 7.8 mmol / L (120 to 140 mg / dL).

Children

The normal blood sugar in children 6 years of age and younger, before meals, is considered to be a value between 5 mmol / L (100 mg / dL) and 10 mmol / L (180 mg / dL). Before bedtime, these values ​​should be 6.1 mmol / L (110 mg / dL) to 11.1 mmol / L (200 mg / dL).

In children from 6 to 12 years old, the blood sugar level should be between 5 mmol / L (90 mg / dL) and 10 mmol / L (180 mg / dL), at bedtime 5.5 mmol / L (100 mg / dL) and 10 mmol / l (180 mg / dl). For children between the ages of 13 and 19, the numbers should be the same as for adults.

Blood sugar tables

The graph below is a summary of your blood sugar levels, but is not 100% accurate. Check with your healthcare professional.

Summary of sugar (glucose) levels

Sugar reading values ​​with a little description of what they are talking about

Sugar level values ​​in relation to health risks

Signs of an out-of-range sugar level

When the blood sugar rate goes beyond the borderline value, the following symptoms appear:

Feeling thirsty

If you are constantly thirsty, you may have high blood sugar, which could be a sign of diabetes. When your body is unable to keep your blood sugar levels normal, your kidneys work harder to filter out excess sugar. At this point, they consume additional moisture from the tissues, which leads to frequent urge to urinate. The feeling of thirst is a signal to replenish the missing reserves of fluid. If it is not enough, dehydration sets in.

Fatigue

Overwork and feeling tired can also signal diabetes. When sugar does not enter the cells, but simply stays in the blood, they do not receive enough energy. So you can feel slight fatigue or overworking to the point where you feel like taking a nap.

Dizziness

Feeling confused or dizzy may be signs high sugar... Your brain needs sugar to function properly, and a lack of it can be very dangerous, up to functional disorders if you ignore this problem. Even a regular glass of fruit juice can bring sugar back to normal. If dizziness often bothers you, see your doctor to correct your diet or treatment in general.

Legs and arms swell

Diabetes and high pressure- two factors that can lead to kidney problems and impair the function of fluid filtration. Because of this, excess fluid can accumulate in the body, which leads to swelling of the arms and legs.

Numbness and tingling

Nerve damage can also be a symptom of chronic sugar control problems. As a result, your arms and legs become numb, you feel pain in your limbs when the ambient temperature changes.

You are losing your sight

What does a visual impairment look like?

The combination of high sugar and high blood pressure can damage the sensitive organs in your eyes and lead to impaired vision. Diabetic retinopathy results from damage to blood vessels inside the eye, which is a common problem with age-related vision loss. Fog in front of the eyes, dots, lines or flashes are a signal to see a doctor.

As well as other signs such as:

• Stomach problems (diarrhea, constipation, incontinence);
• Rapid weight loss;
• Skin infections;
• Non-healing wounds.

Important: Symptoms of Level 1 diabetes are severe, severe and long lasting. In type 2 diabetes, symptoms appear slowly, are difficult to recognize, and may not appear at all.

How to measure your sugar level

A device for measuring glucose in the blood.

It is very easy to measure blood sugar level; for this there are special, individual devices - glucometers. Each such device comes with special test strips.

In order to take a measurement, a small amount of blood must be applied to the strip. Next, you need to put the strip into the device. Within 5-30 seconds, the device should form and display the analysis result.

The best way to take a blood sample from your finger is to pierce it with a special lancet that serves for this purpose. When piercing a finger, it is necessary to pre-treat the puncture site with medical alcohol.

Advice for choosing a device:
There are a huge number of all kinds of models. different sizes and shapes. In order to choose the right one, it is best to consult with your doctor and clarify what are the advantages of this model over the others.

How to lower sugar levels

Sugar levels are measured on an empty stomach. In a healthy person, the blood sugar norm is 3.6 - 5.8 mmol / l (65 - 105 mg / dl). By measuring its level, we can say that the result will be 3 values:

• Normal blood sugar (blood glucose on an empty stomach).
• Glycemic disorder - prediabetes (glucose value on an empty stomach is increased to a maximum value of 6.1 to 6.9 mmol / L (from 110 to 124 mg / dL).
• Diabetes ( high level sugar reaching 7.0 mmol / L (126 mg / dL) or higher).

If your blood sugar level is at the highest possible level - in the stage of prediabetes - then this does not mean at all that you will definitely have diabetes mellitus in the future.

This is a reason to start leading an active lifestyle and to be treated before the disease begins to develop and takes over, and probably even prevent it altogether.

Dr. Greg Geretiv, Head of Endocrinology at St. Peter's Hospital, Albany, New York.

In order for blood sugar to be normal, you need:

• Maintain optimal body weight;
• It is necessary to eat right, adhering to special diets (which include a lot of vegetables, fruits, fiber, few calories, fats, alcohol is excluded);
• Get good sleep and get enough rest:
• go to bed and get up at the same time, falling asleep do not look at the TV screen, computer or your phone;
• do not drink coffee after dinner;
• Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day (including exercise, aerobics and other aerobic activity).

Can diabetes be completely cured?

There are currently no known methods or drugs to cure diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body cannot make insulin because the cells responsible for insulin production are completely destroyed. Science does not yet know how to restore or replace them. You will constantly need insulin to maintain your blood sugar levels.

With type 2 diabetes, the body simply does not know how to properly use the produced insulin (this malfunction of the body is called insulin resistance).

However, with the help physical exercise and proper diet, sugar levels can be controlled and live a normal life.

Literature

Conklin V., Complete instruction living a normal life with diabetes, 2009;
National Institute of Diabetes, Digestion and Kidney Disease: "Getting Rid of Diabetes Problems: Keeping Diabetes Under Control", "Hypoglekimia", "Kidney Diseases and Diabetes", "Nervous Disorders and Diabetes";
National Institute of Nervous Disorders and Strokes: "Peripheral Neuropathy Billboard";
American Medical Association, American Association for Assisting Living with Diabetes, John Wiley & Sons, 2007;
National Association for Kidney Disease: "How Your Kidneys Work";
Noumeurs Foundation: "Type II Diabetes: What Is It?";
University of Washington women's health: "Understanding Diabetes";
Home P., Mant J., Turnet S. - "Management diabetes mellitus the second type: conclusion based on the guidance of the NICE Institute. "BMJ 2008; 336: 1306-8;
American Diabetes Association: Checking Glucose, Neuroteramia.