GLUCOSE MEASUREMENT
About the test. Glucose tests measure the amount of sugar in your blood and are used to screen for diabetes or assess the effectiveness of diabetes treatments. Peristently high glucose levels are a hallmark of diabetes and require prompt management by sufferers to prevent serious complications.
How is it done? Blood sugar (glucose) levels can be measured using various tests. The fasting blood glucose test is simple and inexpensive; you don't eat for a period of 8 to 12 hours before you have a blood sample taken. Glucose levels above 7 mmol per litre of blood on two occasions indicate diabetes. (Levels below 5.5 to 6.9 indicate potential problems that may lead to diabetes.) A blood glucose test taken two hours after eating (called a postprandial blood glucose test) may be more accurate; a level of 11 mmol/L or above indicates diabetes. If these tests are inconclusive, an oral glucose tolerance test may be done. In this test you are given a high-glucose beverage and urine are measured for a number of hours afterwards.
If you already have diabetes, a haemoglobin A1 c test (also called a glycated haemoglobin test) is used to assess whether your therapy is effective. It provides a good estimate of average blood glucose values over the previous 8 to 10 weeks. Home monitoring (see below) is also important.
How often is it needed? Diabetes Australia and New Zeland recommend blood glucose tests be performed every three years from age 55.
You'll need this test, more often if..
If you have Type 1 diabetes, you may need to monitor your glucose levels at home four or more times a day to ensure that blood sugar levels are under tight control.
Many people with Type 2 diabetes check their glucose level just once a day. However, testing more frequently than this allows for better control of your blood sugar levels and the disease.
Regardless of what type of diabetes you have, aim for pre-meal glucose levels between 4 and 6 mmol/L and bedtime levels up to 8 mmol/L.
Several types of home test kits are available. The most popular one involves using a special lancing device to draw a drop of blood from your fingertip. (A laser-pick device is available for children.) The blood is placed on a special test strip and read by a meter that gives you your glucose levels in less than a minute. To optimise results, test the meter once a month, keep it clean and use fresh test strips.
Other devices draw minute amounts of blood from your forearm, which is often less painful than picking your finger. In addition, to measuring glucose, some home monitors measure substances in the blood called ketones, which can build up in the body and cause a life-threatening complication called diabetic ketoacidosis. A home test kit for haemoglobin A1c is also now availble.
A new type of monitor from the US, the GlucoWatch Biographer, is a battery-powdered device you wear on your wrist like a watch. It measures glucose levels by sending painless electrical currents through the skin. The watch can provide a glucose reading every 20 minutes for up to 12 hours, even during sleep. This device should be used only in combination with finger-prick testing.
Hearing Tests
About the test. Hearing tests are designed to assess hearing loss and detect any structural or nerve damage that may be causing problems. You will listen to tones of varying pitch and volume and also be asked to identify words, sometimes in the presence of background noise.
How is it done? Usually hearing tests are performed by an audiologist, a specialist in hearing problems. You sit in a soundproof room, wearing headphones or a headband that plays tones or words. Avoid coffee or products that contain caffeine for four hours beforehand. Complete testing takes about an hour. Your doctor will review the results afterwards.
How often is it needed? Your doctor will screen for any hearing problems during regular checkups or every one to two years, especially after age 65. If necessary, you will be given information about hearing aids or be referred to a hearing specialist.
Special considerations
About the test. Named after, its inventor, Dr. George Papanicolaou, a Pap smear is a simple, painless and inexpensive procedure used to screen women for cervical cancer. It is usually performed during a pelvic examination, in which your doctor checks your reproductive organs for problems in the uterus, ovaries and cervix. Since the introduction of the Australian National Cervical Screening Program in 1991 there has been a significant fall in the number of deaths from crevical cancer. Thousands of cases have been caught early and completely cured thanks to this test.
How is it done? You will be asked to disrobe and lie on your back with your knees drawn up. Your doctor will gently insert an instrument called a speculum to open your vagina and better view the area. For the Pap smear, a swab of cells is taken from the cervix and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Because blood may interfere with the results, the best time to have a Pap smear is two weeks after the start of your menstrual period.
How often is it needed? The National Cervical Screening Program recommends Pap smears every two years in Australia for all women over age 18 or when they become sexually active. In New Zealand, a Pap smear is recommended every three years. It is also a good idea to have a pelvic examination along with your Pap smear to check for conditions such as ovarian tumours.
You'll need these tests more often if..
About the test. Glucose tests measure the amount of sugar in your blood and are used to screen for diabetes or assess the effectiveness of diabetes treatments. Peristently high glucose levels are a hallmark of diabetes and require prompt management by sufferers to prevent serious complications.
How is it done? Blood sugar (glucose) levels can be measured using various tests. The fasting blood glucose test is simple and inexpensive; you don't eat for a period of 8 to 12 hours before you have a blood sample taken. Glucose levels above 7 mmol per litre of blood on two occasions indicate diabetes. (Levels below 5.5 to 6.9 indicate potential problems that may lead to diabetes.) A blood glucose test taken two hours after eating (called a postprandial blood glucose test) may be more accurate; a level of 11 mmol/L or above indicates diabetes. If these tests are inconclusive, an oral glucose tolerance test may be done. In this test you are given a high-glucose beverage and urine are measured for a number of hours afterwards.
If you already have diabetes, a haemoglobin A1 c test (also called a glycated haemoglobin test) is used to assess whether your therapy is effective. It provides a good estimate of average blood glucose values over the previous 8 to 10 weeks. Home monitoring (see below) is also important.
How often is it needed? Diabetes Australia and New Zeland recommend blood glucose tests be performed every three years from age 55.
You'll need this test, more often if..
- You are obese and/or physically inactive.
- You have high blood pressure.
- You have high cholesterol
- You are an indigenous Australian, Pacific Islander or from the India Subcontinent or China.
- ALL OF THE ABOVE: glucose testing may be needed earlier than age 45 and be done more often than every three years; discuss frequency with your doctor.
- You have diabetes. (Home monitoring as often as several times a day for tight (control).
- You have a family history of diabetes.
- You had diabetes when you were pregnant.
If you have Type 1 diabetes, you may need to monitor your glucose levels at home four or more times a day to ensure that blood sugar levels are under tight control.
Many people with Type 2 diabetes check their glucose level just once a day. However, testing more frequently than this allows for better control of your blood sugar levels and the disease.
Regardless of what type of diabetes you have, aim for pre-meal glucose levels between 4 and 6 mmol/L and bedtime levels up to 8 mmol/L.
Several types of home test kits are available. The most popular one involves using a special lancing device to draw a drop of blood from your fingertip. (A laser-pick device is available for children.) The blood is placed on a special test strip and read by a meter that gives you your glucose levels in less than a minute. To optimise results, test the meter once a month, keep it clean and use fresh test strips.
Other devices draw minute amounts of blood from your forearm, which is often less painful than picking your finger. In addition, to measuring glucose, some home monitors measure substances in the blood called ketones, which can build up in the body and cause a life-threatening complication called diabetic ketoacidosis. A home test kit for haemoglobin A1c is also now availble.
A new type of monitor from the US, the GlucoWatch Biographer, is a battery-powdered device you wear on your wrist like a watch. It measures glucose levels by sending painless electrical currents through the skin. The watch can provide a glucose reading every 20 minutes for up to 12 hours, even during sleep. This device should be used only in combination with finger-prick testing.
Hearing Tests
About the test. Hearing tests are designed to assess hearing loss and detect any structural or nerve damage that may be causing problems. You will listen to tones of varying pitch and volume and also be asked to identify words, sometimes in the presence of background noise.
How is it done? Usually hearing tests are performed by an audiologist, a specialist in hearing problems. You sit in a soundproof room, wearing headphones or a headband that plays tones or words. Avoid coffee or products that contain caffeine for four hours beforehand. Complete testing takes about an hour. Your doctor will review the results afterwards.
How often is it needed? Your doctor will screen for any hearing problems during regular checkups or every one to two years, especially after age 65. If necessary, you will be given information about hearing aids or be referred to a hearing specialist.
Special considerations
- Advanced imaging techniques such as computerised tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head may be required to detect manage to tissues such as the cochlea in the ear. The tests can also help to determine whether you could be a candidate for a cochlear implant.
- Some inner ear disorders also cause dizziness and/or balance problems so you may have to undergo tests to assess your balance as well.
About the test. Named after, its inventor, Dr. George Papanicolaou, a Pap smear is a simple, painless and inexpensive procedure used to screen women for cervical cancer. It is usually performed during a pelvic examination, in which your doctor checks your reproductive organs for problems in the uterus, ovaries and cervix. Since the introduction of the Australian National Cervical Screening Program in 1991 there has been a significant fall in the number of deaths from crevical cancer. Thousands of cases have been caught early and completely cured thanks to this test.
How is it done? You will be asked to disrobe and lie on your back with your knees drawn up. Your doctor will gently insert an instrument called a speculum to open your vagina and better view the area. For the Pap smear, a swab of cells is taken from the cervix and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Because blood may interfere with the results, the best time to have a Pap smear is two weeks after the start of your menstrual period.
How often is it needed? The National Cervical Screening Program recommends Pap smears every two years in Australia for all women over age 18 or when they become sexually active. In New Zealand, a Pap smear is recommended every three years. It is also a good idea to have a pelvic examination along with your Pap smear to check for conditions such as ovarian tumours.
You'll need these tests more often if..
- Your Pap smear results are abnormal or ambiguous. (Pap smear every six months over the following 18 months or a colposcopy, which uses a magnifier to look for abnormal tissue.)
- You've had cancer of the reproductive tract. (Pap smear and pelvic examination annually or more often at doctor's discretion).
- You test positive for the human papilloma virus, which causes most cases of cervical cancer. (Pap smear and pelvic examination at least annually.)
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