Preventive screening at-home tests
While it is important to contact a doctor for regular checkups, some at-home preventive tests can help screen for certain conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and nutritional deficiencies.
A person should discuss with their doctor what screenings they advise and how frequently they recommend them.
In most cases, it will be necessary to attend an appointment in person for the screening. At-home screenings can help a person monitor their health in between appointments. This can be useful for detecting early signs of a condition or monitoring changes in an existing diagnosis.
Read on to learn more about the types of preventive screenings for at-home use.
Diabetes screenings for home use cannot diagnose diabetes, but they can monitor blood glucose (sugar) levels and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c).
Home blood glucose monitors can be beneficial for people with diabetes to help track their blood sugar levels. A person may also wish to monitor their blood sugar at home if they have concerns about diabetes or prediabetes. This involves either doing a finger-prick blood test or using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
The HbA1c test provides the average blood sugar levels in the blood over the previous 2 to 3 months. If a person is at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the target HbA1c level should be 42 millimoles per mole (mmol/mol).
It is important to speak with a doctor if there are concerns about diabetes. The doctor may recommend medical tests before suggesting home monitoring.
If a person has a diabetes diagnosis, their doctor can advise on how to monitor the condition at home.
While it is important to visit a doctor for regular checkups, a person can additionally monitor these at home.
A person can monitor their blood pressure at home if they have high blood pressure or are at risk of high blood pressure. It is
A doctor or pharmacist can provide guidance on how to use the monitor. It is important to write down the blood pressure readings and take them to the doctor at the next appointment.
Seek immediate medical help if a blood pressure reading has a systolic (top) number higher than 180 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or a diastolic (bottom) number higher than 120 mm Hg. This can indicate a hypertensive emergency, which can cause symptoms such as:
A person may receive cholesterol monitoring as part of a routine checkup. Doctors may recommend more frequent monitoring if there is a risk of heart disease or stroke.
While it is best to receive a cholesterol check from a medical professional, it may be beneficial in some cases to also monitor cholesterol levels at home.
There are two main ways to measure cholesterol at home: testing kits and sampling kits. Testing kits involve pricking the finger to get a small blood sample and placing it on a test strip. The test strip then goes into a monitor.
Sampling kits involve taking a blood sample and sending it to a laboratory for analysis.
A person can speak with a doctor or pharmacist for guidance on how to effectively prick the skin and provide a blood sample. It is important to follow specific steps to ensure the most accurate results.
Monitoring blood sugar levels involves doing a finger-prick test or using a CGM.
Doctors may recommend regularly monitoring blood sugar levels if a person is at risk of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. These can increase a person’s risk of heart disease or stroke.
A doctor can advise on how often they recommend home monitoring and how best to test and record blood sugar levels.
Doctors will usually check a person’s weight during a routine checkup. They may also take a waist circumference measurement. A person can also monitor these at home.
While maintaining a moderate weight will not completely prevent these conditions, it may help to reduce the risk. A person’s doctor can advise on what a moderate weight is based on individual circumstances.
Only a medical professional can diagnose cancer. However, some at-home cancer screenings can also help detect certain cancers early.
It is also important to perform regular self-examinations to test for cancers such as breast cancer or testicular cancer. A doctor can provide more information on proper techniques to check for signs of cancer.
It is always best to visit a medical professional for routine screenings or any specific tests they recommend. Screenings in a medical setting are more likely to be more accurate than home screenings.
If a person wishes to monitor their health with home screenings, they can speak with a doctor for advice on what screenings they recommend and how to accurately perform them.
The doctor can also provide information on how frequently a person should use at-home screenings and how to record the information to bring to the doctor at their next appointment.
Some at-home preventive screenings can help a person monitor their health and detect signs of certain conditions. For example, blood glucose monitors and HbA1c tests can be useful if there are concerns about diabetes.
Blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure tests can help monitor heart health. Some infections, such as STIs, UTIs, and COVID-19, are detectable at home.
It may be possible to identify signs of cervical cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer with at-home tests that a person can then send for laboratory analysis. However, these tests alone cannot confirm the presence of cancer.
Speak with a doctor about the preventive screenings they recommend and whether at-home screenings can be useful based on individual circumstances. The doctor can recommend specific preventive screenings for home use and advise on how to perform them correctly for the most accurate results.