What You Need to Know About Random Glucose Testing?
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What is Random Blood Sugar (RBS) Test?
Random blood glucose testing is a common test that can be performed by anyone who wishes to know their blood sugar levels at any given time. Unlike other diabetes-related tests, a random glucose test can be performed anytime during the day.
This test helps a doctor decide if the individual needs additional testing. Since a higher-than-normal random blood glucose reading may indicate diabetes, it must be followed by confirmatory tests. However, random glucose testing is not recommended to confirm diabetes but can be used to monitor blood sugar levels.
How is random glucose testing performed?
A random blood glucose test is performed at the doctor’s clinic and requires a blood sample collected from a small finger prick. It can be done using a glucometer at home, or a blood sample can be collected in a lab.
There are no preparations required before a random blood sugar test. A random blood sugar test is performed at any time during the day, irrespective of the time and the type of food you have consumed.
Random blood glucose testing is recommended for anyone who wishes to know about their blood sugar levels. Besides their regular blood sugar testing schedule, people with prediabetes and diabetes can do random glucose testing while on treatment.
Why is random glucose testing important for diabetes management?
Though a random blood glucose test is not used for diagnostic purposes, it can help you cross-check or confirm symptoms of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. Timely diagnosis can also help reduce the risk of chronic diabetes-related complications as it helps people better monitor their blood sugar levels during the day.
How often should I undergo random glucose testing?
You must do random blood glucose testing to verify symptoms of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia when they occur at odd times. It is, however, not recommended to be done as a routine self-monitoring of blood glucose levels.
What are the normal range values for random glucose testing?
A random blood glucose test measures the amount of glucose in a person’s blood in mg/dL. A level above 200mg/dL indicates that the person has diabetes. However, random glucose testing is followed by other glucose tests like fasting, post-prandial, HbA1c, or oral glucose tolerance (OGTT).
In people with diabetes and prediabetes, their glucose levels vary widely over the course of the day. This is particularly true if their blood sugar levels are not well managed. In these individuals, random blood glucose test results vary.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can other factors like recent food intake affect random glucose test results?
A few factors that can increase a person’s blood glucose levels are: Eating too much food, Low levels of physical activity, Illness, Side effects of medications, Pain, Menstruation, Dehydration, Stress, and Hormonal changes.
My random blood sugar is high. What other blood glucose monitoring tests do I have to do?
Besides a random blood glucose test, there are many other types of blood glucose monitoring tests used by doctors to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes. These include: Fasting blood glucose test, Post-prandial (or post-meal) blood glucose test, HbA1c test, Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and Random blood glucose test.
How does random glucose testing correlate with diabetes management parameters?
Random blood glucose testing values vary based on your last meal. If you are testing one to two hours after a meal, ADA recommends that your random glucose levels (for normally healthy individuals without diabetes) be under 180 mg/dL. If you are testing before a meal, your blood glucose levels must be between 80 and 130 mg/dL.
Can I ignore high random blood sugar levels?
No, you should not ignore a high random blood sugar level reading. Instead, you must confirm if you have prediabetes or diabetes by doing additional tests like fasting blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance (OGTT), or continuous glucose monitoring.
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