November 30, 1999
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from West Virginia, USA:
My 8 year old daughter had a blood sugar reading of 211 at a cookout the other day. She is not a diabetic. Her grandfather is and did the test for fun. She actually enjoyed it. I thought this was high so we did a early morning test and it was only 81. Could the 211 reading be from eating, or should I have more tests run? My son that is 3 did the same test. His readings were 174 at the cookout and 91 early morning. I will probably have tests run if my doctor says so but I want your opinion.
Answer:
Home blood glucose monitoring needs to be done properly. If the test were done properly, then a reading over 200 mg/dl is abnormal and needs to be assessed by your child’s doctor. I have seen some similar situations where the meter wasn’t working right, hands were not washed ahead of time, etc. Nonetheless, now that the test has been done, you need to talk to your doctor for individual advice.
I would not recommend using other people’s blood glucose monitoring equipment due to concerns about transmitting infection.
LM