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DIABETES
The A1C testIf you have diabetes it’s very important to keep your blood glucose (sugar) at the correct level. You will feel better and you can prevent or delay the start of diabetes complications such as nerve, eye, kidney, and blood vessel damage. One way to keep track of changes in your blood sugar is by testing the level at home. This test will give you your blood sugar level at any one time. But if you want to know how you've done overall you need an A1C test (also known as glycated haemoglobin or HbA1C), which provides a picture of your average blood glucose control for the past 2-3 months and tells you how well your treatment plan is working. The blood glucose test is like an individual batsman's score, while the A1C test is his seasonal batting average. The one gives you his most recent performance, the other shows you his overall success. Although the A1C test is an important tool, it doesn't replace daily self-testing of blood glucose. A1C tests don't measure your day-to-day control and you can't adjust your insulin on the basis of the result. But for doctors and clinicians it's a vital indicator, as it gives them a true picture of the diabetic condition, unaffected by the daily or weekly fluctuations that accompany self-tested blood glucose readings. |
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