Use Your A1c Home Test Kit
The Hemoglobin A1c home test kits is only gradually becoming popular among type I diabetics. However, there is the choice of testing A1c at home, during the period between appointments with the medical practitioner.
Every A1c home test kits helps you to get ready a tiny drop of blood as the blood sample at home. This blood sample is similar to that used for a glucose meter. Whether you obtain instant results at home or you get the blood sample to be analyzed in a lab depends on the kind of test kit you have bought.
A1c Home Results
At present, regarding portable test kits that can give instant results at home, there is only one product in the market, known as the A1CNow SELFCHECK. The FDA has given approval to this technology. It enables you to know your A1c results in just 5 minutes. It looks the same as your glucose meter; but its usage is only for two tests. You buy the A1c meter which is for only two tests. When those tests have been used, the meter is thrown away and a new kit is bought. There is nothing to refill or replace; no test strips required. With each new kit is a new meter marked for accurate measurement particularly for its testing cartridges.(see A1c Test)
A1CNow SELFCHECK is a product of Bayer Healthcare. It is sold in main drugstores. Early reports indicate the results given are almost the same as those from analysis at the labs. According to Bayer, when comparing its results with results from the lab, the A1CNow SELFCHECK has 99% accuracy.
Home Check A1c Test -Video Guide
A1c Test Lab Results
The blood sample taken with A1c home kits which has to be sent to the lab for analysis follow almost the same procedures. You give a blood sample taken at home with materials in the kit. Then, you send the blood sample to the laboratory by mail. You have to use a postage-paid return mailer. Next, you wait for approximately three to ten days for the results in the form of a report from the lab.
If the blood sample has been properly protected when it is sent for processing at the lab, there is no doubt that the results of the A1c tests are accurate.
Below are given a few well known A1c home test kits which need lab analysis.
- ReliOn A1c Test Kit :This is a kit with a single test. Accurate results, by email or mail, obtained not more than 5 days after reaching the lab.
- Flexsite A1c Test Kit : You have the choice of kits with a single test or four tests. Accurate results obtained at the most ten days after reaching the lab.
- Appraise A1c Test Kit : This is a kit with a single test which gives accurate results within 3 days of the arrival of the blood sample at the lab.
Comparing A1c with Daily Sugar Monitoring
A1c testing ought to be done a minimum two times each for people suffering from type l diabetes and at least four times each year should you have difficulty with your blood glucose, according to the American Diabetes Association.
It is necessary to stress that A1c tests aren’t meant to replace everyday sugar checks. A1c tests give your blood glucose average for the last 2 – 3 consecutive months while daily sugar testing determines your blood glucose at the moment of testing. It is necessary to have both in order to manage your diabetes effectively. A1c home test kits used together with the glucose monitor assist you in better control of your diabetes.