Importance of Ketone Testing for Patients with Diabetes

All blood tests are tools to check the vitals of your body. When it comes to diabetes, some of these tests are done to diagnose if one has the disease while others help you manage your diabetes on a daily or long-term basis.

People with diabetes are told about blood testing and how important testing is to manage their blood glucose. It is a critical part of diabetes management. Whether it is done in the physician’s office or the patient’s home, it is an invaluable tool. However, ketone testing, a special test for diabetes is often ignored or not known to many diabetics. This test can be life saving and should be in anyone’s knowledge who has diabetes or knows a loved one who has the disease.

Now, What Are Ketones?

When the body is unable to burn glucose, it burns fat and this produces a chemical called ketones. This occurs when there is too little insulin for the amount of glucose in the body. Possible causes for this could be:

Experiencing stress or illness such as fever,
Having an infection.
Omitting or taking too little insulin
Eating more food than planned
Improper storage of insulin

If left untreated, ketones continue to rise and can result in a condition called Diabetic Ketoacidosis, or DKA. This condition is quite serious and requires immediate medical attention. DKA is the most common cause of hospitalization and death among children and young adults with diabetes, and the leading cause of adverse events for insulin pump users.

The smartest and fastest way to measure your ketones is here.

How to Test for Blood Ketones

Dr Trust has developed the Gold Standard Blood Glucose Monitoring system that allows you to test for ketones in your blood. The Dr Trust Gold standard meter will also display a ketone warning over 15mmol/L. If you get a ketone warning, you are advised to consult your doctor.