RBS

A random blood sugar test is used to measure the amount of glucose (sugar) in your blood without any fasting conditions. In this test, the blood is drawn randomly at any point of time in a day. This is the most common test to detect diabetes.

The main source of energy for all the cells in our body mostly for brain cells comes from glucose. Glucose acts as a building block for carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are commonly found in rice, cereals, bread, fruit or pasta. Carbohydrates are immediately converted to glucose, thus increasing the glucose levels in your blood. This condition is called diabetes.

Why this test is performed?

This test may be recommended to you if you experience any of the symptoms like increase urge to urinate, blurred vision, recent weight gain, confusion, change in behavior, if you experience seizures for the first time, loss of consciousness, etc. Increase in your blood sugar levels and diabetes may not always show all the symptoms.

Precautions:

Some medicines may also alter your random blood sugar levels like contraceptive pills, diuretics like furosemide, torsemide, etc, if you are on hormone therapy, corticosteroids like prednisone, prednisolone, etc, aspirin, phenytoin, lithium, epinephrine, sulfonylurea drugs like glimepiride, glipizide etc, tricyclic antidepressants like amitriptyline, etc.

Inform your doctor about your past illness or medications, about your present illness and current medication prior to the test.

Frequency:

For individuals above 45 years of age this test is recommended every 3 years. The frequency of this test depends on various factors like body weight, history of a heart disease, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, imbalance of female sex hormones, a family member with diabetes, physically inactive, polycystic ovary disease, etc. Children above 10 years of age with any of two above-mentioned risk factors should be recommended to this test at least once in every 3 years even with no symptoms.

Random blood sugar test results vary depending on your diet intake, food taken at different times of the day. In individuals with diabetes and prediabetes blood, glucose levels may change all day long. This is particularly in individuals with uncontrolled diabetes, the random blood sugar results may greatly differ. It also depends on exercise because exercise will reduce the glucose levels in the body.

If your random blood sugar test levels are higher than the normal, it may indicate diabetes. If individuals with diabetes get an abnormal value in random blood sugar test it may indicate that diabetes is not well managed.

If your random blood sugar levels are lower than normal range then it may indicate a condition called hypoglycemia.

Depending on your random blood sugar test results your doctor may indicate fasting blood glucose test, HbA1c test or glucose tolerance test.

Sometimes other medical problems may also lead to high blood sugar levels, like pancreatic cancer, overactive thyroid gland, pancreatitis where pancreas are swollen, stress, trauma, stroke, heart attack, surgery, acromegaly, glucagonoma, pheochromocytoma, Cushing syndrome, etc.

Low-level blood sugar may be due to pituitary gland disorder like hypopituitarism, too little food, too much insulin or diabetic medicines, liver disease or kidney disease, underactive adrenal gland or thyroid gland, vigorous exercise, weight loss post surgery, tumor in the pancreas, etc.