Testing the urine is one of the most easiest and effective way to know your health condition. One good way to test the urine of an individual is through urine strips. Urine strips are paper strips with embedded pads that are sensitive to glucose. The moment this tool is dipped into the urine sample, the color of the pads will change its color and to indicate the amount of glucose present in the urine.
The test will be then used to get a rough estimation of the glucose levels in the blood, or commonly known as blood sugar. Glucose urine strips however, impose many disadvantages on its calculation of glucose. That is why many people abandoned this urine testing method and switched into blood glucose testing, which gives more accurate glucose counts.
New strips right now provide more accurate glucose counts, one of the best benefits of this tool is detecting early signs of diabetes and monitor the body’s sugar levels. Before, glucose test strips were used to measure glucose levels of the human body, this tool helped diabetic individuals to monitor their health and adjust the level of their insulin intake. The strip is also commonly used for domestic diabetic pets like cats and dogs.
The problem with glucose strips though is that, many people find hard time reading the apparatus. Color changes in the pad can be very subtle; those who are not good in distinguishing colors may read the results incorrectly. This often leads into false reading and will result into confusion as to the amount of medication needed for the patient.
Second, this type of urine strip does not show information about the current blood sugar or glucose levels. Rather, it shows your glucose levels hours before as your body excrete the urine. You may have a slightly high glucose in your reading, but that was when you haven’t peed yet. You may have increased your glucose drastically for hours, and that can be very dangerous.