What is the HbA1c test?
This is a blood test by which the average blood glucose of a patient with diabetes is checked, and it is ensured that how is the control of any patient on his own blood sugar either the control is excellent, or It is not at all, or it is moderate, everything can be easily detected by this test.
Apart from this, this test is of special importance for the diagnosis of diabetes; from this, it becomes clear whether a person has sugar disease or not.
There are red blood cells in the blood of any human, in which a special protein called hemoglobin is found; this hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body. The sugar or glucose in our blood goes inside the red blood cells, binds to hemoglobin, and forms glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).
That is why the higher the amount of glucose in a person's blood, the more HbA1c is made; apart from sugar patients, this test is also useful for those who are more likely to have sugar in the future.
What is the full form of HbA1c?
This test is called- Glycated Haemoglobin or Glycosylated Haemoglobin, or it is also called Haemoglobin A1C or HbA1c.
How is the HbA1c test better than the daily blood sugar test?
If a diabetic patient gets his blood sugar checked every morning on an empty stomach or after 2 hours after having a meal. So it is seen in the inspection that sometimes the blood sugar level is controlled, sometimes it is increased, or sometimes it is low although the patient is consuming medicine properly.
But by getting the HbA1c test done, the patient is sure of how he controls his blood sugar. This is because there are many reasons why the daily blood sugar rises too low or high.
Doing too much physical exercise someday can lower blood sugar, or due to not eating food properly, the next morning on an empty stomach, the level of blood sugar becomes very low.
- Excessive mental stress can cause a difference in blood sugar levels.
- Abruptly consuming too much alcohol can cause deficient blood sugar levels.
- With sudden consumption of sweet substances by a diabetic patient, the blood sugar increases significantly in the next few moments.
- Consumption of many other medicines by the diabetic patient can disturb his daily blood sugar level.
That is why nowadays, almost all doctors consider it better to get an HbA1c test done instead of a daily blood sugar level test, and this test is better for diagnosis and treatment of sugar disease in a true sense.
How can complications due to diabetes be reduced with the help of the HbA1c test?
If the level of HbA1c is not maintained properly, then there is more risk of diabetes complications. If a person's HbA1c level is high, then that person may have many complications in the future due to sugar disease, for example... As if…
- Diabetic Retinopathy
- Kidney failure (Diabetic Nephropathy)
- Diabetic Neuropathy
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Skin Diseases
- Diabetic Foot Ulcer
- Effect of sugar on the brain (Diabetic Encephalopathy)
- Optic nerve damage due to diabetes (Diabetic Papillopathy)
- Alzheimer's disease
- Dementia
- Hearing loss etc.
That is why it is essential to keep the level of HbA1c under proper control because, like termites, diabetes disease eradicates the body from the inside.
What is the normal level of HbA1c?
It is like this...
- For a healthy person - below 5.7%
- In pre-diabetic patients - between 5.7 to 6.4%
- In patients with diabetes – equal to or more than 6.5%
If a person's HbA1c level is more than 8%, then it means that person has no control over his blood sugar at all. In such a situation, proper medicine should be administered after consulting the doctor properly.
If HbA1c is level is more than 7%, then the patient should be cautious about controlling his blood sugar, and by any means, keeping it below 7% should be the goal of the diabetic patient.
In addition to percentage, this probe is also measured as mmol/mol. 7% = 53 mmol/mol
How long does it take to do the HbA1c test?
It takes about 40 to 50 minutes for the laboratory technician to complete this blood test. Many laboratories do not have proper arrangements to do this test. Therefore, he sends the patient's blood sample to another laboratory; thus, the HbA1c report comes after two to 3 days.
How much does the HbA1c test cost?
It costs about 400 to 600 rupees to get this test done; it depends on the rate of different laboratories.
Is there any special preparation needed before getting the HbA1c test done?
No special preparation is required to get this test done; the patient's blood sample can be taken at any time.
Taking blood sample of a patient
For this, a small blood sample is taken from the vein of the patient's arm, in which slight pain and pricking are felt; apart from this, there is no problem in getting this test done.
Based on which symptoms HbA1c test is done?
This test is done for those people who have the following symptoms such as…
- Excessive thirst
- Frequent urination
- Feeling very tired
- Delayed healing of wounds
- Blurred vision etc.
Apart from this, this test is also done to detect diabetes in pregnancy. Through this test, sugar is estimated before conception because many women complain of diabetes or sugar disease during pregnancy.
If the HbA1c level is high, what can be done to reduce it?
To reduce this, the only remedy can be done by controlling your increased blood sugar levels; for this, any medicine, whether it is allopathic or ayurvedic, or homeopathic, can be taken by anyone; you have to take the help of your doctor.
It can be done with medicines by doing proper diet and healthy lifestyle, daily exercise or yoga, etc.
The most important thing is to avoid consuming delightful foods if the level of HbA1c of a person is very high.
Conclusion…
HbA1c is a critical blood test that gives an accurate report about the average blood sugar of a person for the last 2 to 3 months. It helps the doctor a lot in managing complications and proper medication of diabetes or sugar disease.
Along with this, people whose family history, i.e., whose parents have sugar, get accurate information about their blood sugar from time to time with the help of this test to protect from this disease in the future.
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