3 Things You Need to Know about Home Cholesterol Test Kits
A man's finger is pricked to test his cholesterol at the City of Newark's free homeless health fair at the Department of Child and Family Well-Being on August 13, 2009, in Newark, New Jersey. The Department of Child and Family Well-Being, in partnership with other health organizations, gave free medical examinations to the homeless, including screening for high blood pressure, cancer, and diabetes.
Almost all people know healthy cholesterol levels are a key element of cardiovascular wellness. With this, the American Heart Association has recommended getting one's cholesterol level checked every four to six years.
Such a test consists of a blood lipid panel as part of the yearly physical to assess the total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein or LDL, and high-density lipoprotein or HDL.
These regular checks and monitoring could help determine if a person's lifestyle and medication adjustments should be made to maintain healthy blood cholesterol.
At-home testing kits can be especially handy for individuals who are found to have high cholesterol may want to have their blood tested more often to better and manage their cardiovascular condition properly.
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3 Considerations when Buying Home Cholesterol Test Kits
Some people have a history of high cholesterol in the family, and more often than not, they are curious even at a young age for the preemptive measures.
If you are among the many who want to find out if they have proper cholesterol levels, perhaps, you're already contemplating buying and owning your at-home test kit.
Although health experts do not recommend home cholesterol testing to replace the extensive diagnostics that physicians and medical health programs offer, it can be a great addition to your proactive health regime.
Having gathered this takeaway from the experts, here are three reasons why at-home cholesterol test kits are a must-have.
1. An Easy-to-Use Kit
You can buy the kit at a nearby pharmacy or your nearest medical supply store. Price is not that expensive too, as you can buy a reliable kit for only less than $20.
The standard kit comes with a lancet that the user will use to draw blood for drawing blood and test strips.
It is easy to use the at-home cholesterol kit. First, all you need is to have your finger pricked using the lancet. Then, position the blood droplet on the strip that comes with the kit.
The test strip in this kit features select chemicals which, a few minutes after testing, change colors. The color will determine the amount of cholesterol in your blood droplet.
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2. Reliability
A lot of people are hesitant to buy an at-home cholesterol kit because of reliability issues. The kits' reliability varies, not to mention, the fluctuating results.
Doctors claim that reliability depends on the maker or manufacturer of the kit you intend to buy. There are many kits promoted to produce more than 95-percent accuracy.
But still, the health experts add, such cholesterol results need to be considered estimations, and not replace the cholesterol test which your health care provider provides.
3. FDA-Approved
If you want to make sure the kit you're buying is reliable, check the package if it has the approval or certification from the Food and Drugs Administration.
Indeed, the FDA controls specific cholesterol home test kits. Additionally, there are some at-home test kits for triglycerides and high cholesterol. Nevertheless, not all kits for a cholesterol test meet the strict guidelines of the FDA.
If you are not sure about the right at-home cholesterol home test kit you'd buy, the FDA had designed the Over-the-Counter Database available on the agency's website.
The said database is an ideal and reliable resource if you are searching for cholesterol home test kits that are FDA-cleared. You may refer to the website, too, to find other at-home test kit types.
IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS: 5 Simple Ways to Use an At-Home Blood Test Kit
Jul 22, 2020 09:00 AM EDT
