If a person shows the common symptoms of diabetes and is diagnosed, then the first step is to consult a doctor. He will start the proceedings with physical examinations and interview. Usually after that the doctor might ask about the past history of the patient for necessary future steps.
The doctor may also ask about the patient’s parent’s history to determine the exact cause for the diabetes. In addition to that, the doctor may also ask about the life style of the patient. For confirming the diabetes, there are number of confirmatory tests available and some of them are listed below.
Fasting plasma glucose
Fasting plasma glucose is a process of withdrawal of blood where the patient is not allowed to eat or drink anything for 8 hours before the withdrawal of blood. After the withdrawal of blood, if the blood sugar level is greater than or equal to 126 mg/dL, then there is a great probability of possessing diabetes.
In any different cases like if the blood test result is abnormal, then the blood test may be repeated on a different occasion. Another way is for the patient to undergo a glucose tolerance test. On the other hand, if the patient has a sugar level which is greater than 100 mg/dL and below 140 mg/dL, then the patient is said to be in pre diabetic stage. This blood sugar level is called as impaired fasting glucose.
Finger stick blood glucose
The finger stick blood glucose is a screening test and is used widely in public camps and other camps. Moreover, the use of this technique for diagnosing is not very effective and is not accurate. The test is very easy to perform in a lab.
The process involves the patient to stick out his finger and a needle is pierced in it and then the blood is made to wipe on a glass strip and then the blood is tested for the blood sugar level. This technique has a very low accuracy.
Oral glucose tolerance test
The oral glucose tolerance test a like the second stage of fasting plasma glucose. This method is adopted when the fasting plasma glucose test is not acceptable. This method involves the withdrawal of blood for the oral glucose tolerance test and then the withdrawal of blood for the second time and analyzing the blood sugar levels.
The only difference in this method is that, when the blood is drawn for the second time, the patient is given with a very sweet drink with at least 75 grams of sugar in it in order to successfully diagnose the diabetes.
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