By using a home test kit, examining your cholesterol level can be much easier and simpler. It just involves some handwork and patience as your test kit processes the results, and then in a few minutes, your results are out. A lot of tests conducted using cholesterol test kits have proven the kits to be highly accurate. Many have claimed that when they later went to see their doctors were subjected to a medical laboratory cholesterol test, the results were the same. This implies that a cholesterol test kit is a good way of determining the cholesterol levels in the body.
Here are some basic instructions on how you can use a cholesterol test kit.
- The first phase is the preparation. With soap and lukewarm water, wash your hands. Then, let your body relax for a moment. While doing so, rub your hands together so as to warm them up.
- Then, choose which finger to prick so that you would be at ease while the test runs. You have to take note that the finger that you choose must have no callous. If you are a right-handed person, choose a finger from your left hand; do otherwise, if you are left-handed.
- For about half a minute, let the arm of the finger you choose hang down so that the blood will flow to that area, making it faster to draw the blood.
- Choose a place to do the testing. Make sure that there is a table or a flat surface where your selected hand should rest. Take note that your palm should be facing up, and the back of your hand resting down on a flat surface. Pump the testing device with your finger, and follow the instructions provided in the handbook of your kit.
- Use strips of gauze to wipe away the first signs of blood. Then for a few more seconds, to increase the blood flow, let your arm hang down once more.
- Be sure to collect enough of a blood sample, as required. This may vary depending on your kit’s instructions.
After that, the only thing you need to do is to wait and let the device process your blood test for cholesterol. A majority of the kits take around ten to fifteen minutes to provide a result. Then you read your results and compare them to the cholesterol chart that the kit has provided you. To prevent inaccuracy in the results, compare them only with the chart provided in your kit. Comparing it to a different kits’ chart may drive you to incorrect conclusions.
One thing you should bear in mind is that the test results are relative, depending on your condition. They are also pretty dynamic, as your cholesterol levels could change anytime in a day, even everyday. The best thing you could do is to monitor your blood cholesterol level for a certain period of time. You could then check with your doctor who would interpret the results and tell you whether or not you need to take further tests and medications.