This submit might include affiliate hyperlinks. Please learn our disclosure.
The A1c check, also referred to as glycated hemoglobin, hemoglobin A1c, or HbA1c, is important for anybody residing with diabetes.
Whereas it doesn’t present an entire image of your diabetes administration, it serves as an necessary indicator of whether or not your common blood glucose (sugar) ranges are inside a wholesome vary for you.
As we speak, I’ll information you thru the steps to measure your A1c simply and precisely at dwelling.
We’ll additionally discover what the A1c check reveals, why it’s necessary, and methods to perceive the outcomes.
What’s an A1c check?
The A1c check, a blood check, measures your common blood glucose ranges over the previous 2 to three months and is reported as a proportion. Usually, individuals with out diabetes have an A1c under 5.7 %.
This check serves as a precious software for diagnosing diabetes and evaluating the effectiveness of your diabetes administration technique.
The ADA offers the next pointers for utilizing the A1c check in diagnosing diabetes in nonpregnant:
| A1c Degree | What It Means |
| Lower than 5.7 % | Regular |
| 5.7 % to six.4 % | Prediabetes, that means at elevated danger for growing kind 2 diabetes |
| 6.5 % or higher | Identified diabetes (with a second outcome for affirmation) |
See extra in: What Is a “Regular” HbA1c? and What Is a Harmful Degree of A1c?
The ADA recommends that many non-pregnant individuals with diabetes goal for an A1c of seven % or decrease, which corresponds to a mean blood sugar stage of roughly 154 mg/dL (8.6 mmol/L).
Be taught extra in: Tips on how to Translate Your A1c to a Blood Sugar Degree.
Whereas some might goal A1c ranges nearer to the conventional vary, it’s essential to keep away from overly aggressive reductions that may result in harmful hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
It’s necessary to personalize your A1c goal in session together with your healthcare supplier, permitting changes as wanted to fit your well being wants and way of life.
Why is it necessary to measure your A1c
Monitoring your A1c is necessary as elevated blood sugars can result in quite a few short- and long-term diabetes issues. Holding your A1c at a wholesome stage helps scale back these dangers.
In case your A1c ranges start to go above your goal, you’ll be able to take a number of steps to decrease them, comparable to adjusting your medicine together with your healthcare supplier’s steering, altering your weight loss program, growing your bodily exercise, and making different way of life adjustments.
Learn extra in: Tips on how to Decrease Your A1c: The Full Information.
Because the A1c check offers a snapshot of your common blood sugar ranges during the last 2 to three months, it’s beneficial to measure your A1c a minimum of quarterly in individuals newly identified and/or whose glucose ranges are persistently above their goal vary.
This common monitoring helps you monitor the effectiveness of your diabetes administration methods.
For many who have regular glucose ranges inside their goal, A1c testing could also be beneficial a minimum of twice a yr.
Tips on how to use the A1c dwelling check equipment
Measuring your A1c at dwelling may be useful for a number of causes, together with restricted entry to see your healthcare supplier, the gap to a lab, or the price of lab work.
Whereas there are a number of wonderful choices for dwelling A1c testing at dwelling, you will need to seek the advice of together with your medical workforce earlier than making any adjustments to your diabetes care or making an attempt to diagnose your self.
One cost-effective choice is the A1CNow SelfCheck, which I reveal within the video under. This equipment — presently the one dwelling A1c self-test equipment accessible for buy — consists of 4 exams and might ship your A1c outcomes on the spot in simply 5 minutes.
A1c dwelling check equipment common directions
Though actual directions differ from equipment to equipment, common pointers are as follows:
- Put together your testing space by laying out all crucial gear in a clear and dry space.
- Guarantee your arms are clear for the process. You’ll be able to wash them completely with cleaning soap and water and dry them utterly, or use an alcohol prep pad and look ahead to the alcohol to dry.
- Use the lancet on the aspect of your fingertip to attenuate discomfort (keep away from the fingertip pad as it might be extra painful), and gently press to supply a small drop of blood.
- Place the blood collector in opposition to the blood drop, letting it soak up sufficient blood as specified by the producer’s directions.
- Connect the crammed blood collector to the shaker system, safe it, after which shake vigorously for about 5 to eight seconds to combine the pattern with the answer.
- Open the check cartridge, insert it into the A1c analyzer, and use the bottom of the shaker to switch the answer into the analyzer as directed. As soon as completed, take away the bottom.
- Enable the system to course of the outcomes, which usually takes about 5 minutes. Keep away from dealing with the analyzer throughout this time to make sure accuracy.
- File your A1c outcome together with the date.
- Correctly eliminate the used check cartridge and retain the analyzer for future use.
To make sure accuracy, observe the directions included together with your equipment rigorously and supply sufficient blood for the check, as inadequate samples might result in errors.
Contemplate studying by means of the equipment directions previous to starting the check to familiarize your self with the steps. Additionally be sure you test the expiration date in your equipment and retailer it in accordance with the producer’s directions.
Are dwelling A1c check kits correct?
Dwelling A1c check kits are usually thought of to be as correct as these carried out in laboratories. Usually, these kits present outcomes with a precision of plus or minus 0.5 proportion factors, which is about the identical as most traditional lab exams.
For assured accuracy, it’s necessary to pick kits which can be NGSP-certified (Nationwide Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program), which ensures they meet rigorous testing requirements much like these utilized in skilled laboratories.
Moreover, search for kits which have U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance or carry the Conformité Européenne (CE) mark.
FDA clearance signifies that the product has been assessed and deemed secure and efficient to be used in america, whereas the CE mark exhibits compliance with well being and security requirements inside the European Financial Space.
These certifications assist be certain that the merchandise meet rigorous well being, security, and environmental safety requirements.
In my very own expertise utilizing the A1CNow SelfCheck at dwelling — demonstrated within the video above — the outcomes matched completely with these from a lab check performed at Quest Diagnostics just some days prior. At the least in my case, this confirms the reliability to me of licensed dwelling testing kits in real-world circumstances.
How a lot does an A1c check equipment price?
The A1CNow SelfCheck equipment, which I used within the video, prices $64.99 on Amazon for a equipment containing 4 exams as of July 2024. This was probably the most reasonably priced choice I discovered, although costs for related dwelling A1c kits on Amazon usually vary from $60 to $100. (Costs for kits containing a single check may be as little as about $35.)
Dwelling A1c kits are additionally accessible at main pharmacies like CVS and Walmart.
Moreover, there are kits that require you to gather a blood pattern and ship it to a lab. These kits necessitate amassing extra blood (4 to 5 massive droplets) and will contain a wait time of as much as 4 weeks for outcomes, relying on mail speeds to and from the lab, as I’ve skilled.
Is it lined by insurance coverage?
Most medical health insurance plans, together with non-public and authorities plans, sometimes cowl blood work prescribed by your physician and performed in a laboratory.
Nonetheless, protection for at-home A1c check kits is much less sure until the equipment is particularly prescribed by a healthcare supplier.
To find out in case your plan covers these at-home kits, you must contact your insurance coverage firm or evaluation your plan’s advantages. If lined, your insurer might advocate a most popular model or specify a course of for acquiring your equipment.
Enthusiastic about studying methods to decrease your A1c? Learn Tips on how to Decrease Your A1c: The Full Information and Tips on how to Decrease A1c Naturally. Did you discover this text useful? Click on Sure or No under to tell us!
