Diabetes treatment can be summarized as “Five Horses” — diet, sports, education, monitoring and medication. The important role of blood sugar surveillance in the treatment of diabetes can be seen. The following is an example of a blood sugar monitoring programme that can be adapted to the actual situation of patients:
I. Frequency of monitoring
– New diabetic diagnosis: at the beginning of treatment, it is recommended to monitor blood sugar seven times a day, including three hours before, two hours after and sleep. This provides a comprehensive picture of blood sugar fluctuations and helps doctors to develop appropriate treatment programmes. For example, two hours before breakfast, two hours after breakfast, two hours before lunch, two hours after lunch, two hours before dinner, two hours after dinner, sleep. After 1 – 2 weeks of continuous monitoring, the number of monitorings may be reduced as appropriate, depending on blood sugar control.
– Patients with steady blood sugar control: 2 – 4 times a week, with a choice of different time points for group monitoring, e.g., empty abdominal and 2 hours after meal, or one day for empty abdominal, 2 hours after lunch and pre-sleep blood sugar.
– Special cases, such as the adjustment of the dosage of the drug, significant changes in diet or physical activity, low sugar symptoms, illness (e.g. cold, fever, etc.), pregnancy or physiology, etc., should be monitored more frequently and even restored to seven or more times a day in order to detect and take measures in a timely manner to detect blood sugar abnormalities.
Monitoring time
– Empty abdominal sugar: the level of blood sugar after the fasting of 8 – 10 hours, which is usually measured before eating and taking the medication after getting up in the morning.
– Post-eating blood sugar: measured two hours after the first meal. Care is taken to measure time accurately and to avoid impacting results due to excessive or short feeding times.
– Pre-night blood sugar: commonly measured before night sleep, it helps to prevent the occurrence of low blood sugar at night, especially in cases where the use of insulin or sugar can lead to a higher risk of low blood sugar.
Monitoring tools
Self-sweet monitoring using calibrated blood sugar. Ensure that the test paper matches the blood glucose and that the blood samples are properly taken and the results read in accordance with the instructions of the blood glucose. At the same time, the accuracy of the blood glucose instrument is regularly checked and can be calibrated against the results of the hospital’s intravenous blood sugar test.
IV. RECORDS AND ANALYSIS
Information on blood sugar values, timing of measurements, diet (including food type, quantity), motor (sport type, length, intensity), drug use (drug name, dose) should be recorded in a timely manner after each blood sugar measure. Regular reviews of blood sugar records, analysis of blood sugar fluctuations, identification of factors that may affect blood sugar, such as overnourishment, lack of exercise, inappropriate drug dosage, and timely lifestyle or communication with doctors to adjust treatment programmes. For example, if blood sugar continues to be high after a few days of breakfast, it is recalled whether breakfast food contains too much sugar, high fat food, or whether there is no proper exercise after breakfast, etc., and then it is adjusted in a targeted manner.
V. NOTES
– Blood extraction: it is generally chosen on both sides of the fingertip, where the nerve end is relatively low, where the pain is lighter when the blood is taken, and where the blood is abundant, so that sufficient blood samples can be collected. Blood should be washed of hands with soap and warm water before being dried and then taken to avoid the effects of sugar or other material effects from the hands.
– Preservation of test paper: The test paper should be kept in a dry, dark and cold place to avoid direct sunlight, high temperature and humid conditions and be used during its useful life. Each time a test paper is removed, it should be tightly covered to prevent the test paper from being damp or contaminated.
– Blood mining: When blood is taken, a single blood needle is used to ensure that the body is completely disinfected and that the blood is taken after the alcohol is fully volatilized, so that the alcohol does not dilute the blood effects. Blood needles should be cut vertically into the skin, at a depth appropriate to the availability of sufficient blood samples, to avoid over-crowding of blood, and to avoid tissue fluid mixing into blood resulting in low measurements.
The above-mentioned blood sugar surveillance plan is for reference purposes only, and specific monitoring programmes should be developed under the guidance of a doctor to ensure the effectiveness of blood sugar surveillance and the relevance of guidance for diabetes treatment.
