Gestational diabetes only develops during pregnancy and
usually resolves after childbirth, but women who have it later have a higher
risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 5-10 years before childbirth. It
occurs in two out of ten pregnant women and is largely due to hormonal changes
during pregnancy that interfere with insulin construction and activity, causing
glucose to build up in the blood.
Diabetes mellitus during pregnancy
Age over 25.
Family history of diabetes.
Hypertonic disease
Being overweight or obese
Beforehand given birth to a child weighing more than 4 kg
or with congenital anomalies.
Previous unjustified abortions.
Symptoms of gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes causes few symptoms, and they are
usually mild:
Be
proactive.
Fatigue.
Blurred vision.
Increased need to urinate
Losing weight even if you eat more.
Treating
gestational diabetes
Treatment focuses on maintaining glucose levels within
normal limits, which in many cases requires a proper diet (low in fat, protein,
and sugar) and regular exercise. If this is not enough, special medications
will be used to lower blood glucose levels. It should also be noted that women
with gestational diabetes have an increased risk of developing high blood
pressure during pregnancy.
But it is equally important to check the health and
development of the fetus frequently, as pregnancy is considered risky. The
fetus is usually large, so a caesarean section is often required for delivery.
In the first days of life, a baby may have an episode of hypoglycemia.
Capillary blood glucose is measured by pricking the
little finger to remove a drop of blood, which is then positioned on a test
strip and checked with a glucometer. It is a system widely used by patients
with type 1 and type 2 diabetes for daily self-monitoring of blood glucose
levels at home.
This daily check is done with a blood glucose meter. The
injection is given with a lancet or a special pen with a fine needle; test
strips are also needed to measure blood glucose levels.
It is recommended that you perform a capillary glycemic
control test as soon as you get up, before breakfast, and then write the
reading in a notebook, although the meters have a memory in which the data for
each measurement taken is stored. By writing this down in a notebook, you can
keep track of the numbers obtained by writing down diet, exercise, etc.
In this way, the doctor can check glucose control,
determine the cause of a possible increase or decrease in blood glucose levels
and, if necessary, change the treatment to better control it. Note, however,
that capillary blood glucose results can vary by 10-20% from one measurement to
the next if taken sequentially.
How to do it
To correctly determine the level of glucose in capillary
blood, you must first of all observe the following recommendations:
Wash your hands well to remove any residual sugar from
foods and drinks that can interfere with glucose measurements.
Dry your hands well so that the blood does not dissolve
in the remaining water, resulting in lower glucose readings.
If you have very cold hands, it is advisable to warm them
up a little to help the blood flow out more easily. Keep your hands warm or
warm so that a drop of blood can flow out easily.
As for the test itself, the following rules should be
observed:
Place the test strip on the meter.
Download a piercing pen.
The injection should be given to one finger every day,
avoiding the center of the fingertip, as it is more painful and may become
desensitized over time. It is best to do this from the side of your finger.
After the puncture is made, the sides of the puncture
must be pressed down so that a large enough drop of blood can be extracted.
Place the strip on the drop of blood and wait for it to
absorb the required amount.
Look at the meter, check the result and write it down in
a notebook or save it in the device's memory.
Remove the test strip and discard it.
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