7 Good Reasons to Check Blood Sugar Levels

October 28, 2025

2 min read

Diabetes mellitus can appear at any age. To avoid missing the beginning of the disease, you should regularly check your blood glucose levels. This is especially true if you are over the age of 45, are overweight, or have noticed several of the symptoms listed below.

Key takeaways

Diabetes mellitus can appear at any age.
Constant thirst
Frequent urination

Who this is for

People exploring Diabetes through sugar, endocrinology.

Why it matters

This piece helps you get oriented quickly, then move into a collection or series if you want to keep going.

Article author

Dr. Julia

Endocrinologist

Constant thirst

If it is not hot outside, you have not been engaged in sports or heavy physical work, and you drink enough water yet your mouth is constantly dry, this is an alarm bell. It also makes sense to check your sugar levels if you notice that you are drinking much more water than usual.

Frequent urination

With elevated sugar levels, urination is often unrelated to the amount you drink. Frequent urination that occurs no matter how much liquid is consumed should prompt you to think about the cause.

Dry skin and mucous membranes

Abnormal flaking of the skin, peeling lips, and dryness of the vagina for women can be symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

Slow healing of scratches

A shallow scratch normally takes a week to 10 days to heal. If the process takes longer, a visit to the doctor is worth considering.

Acne

If the appearance of acne is atypical for you, and lately your skin has "gone bad," the first thing to do is to take a glucose test.

Deterioration of vision

Deterioration of vision by a diopter or more over a year can be a consequence of diabetes mellitus.

Fatigue

High sugar levels can be the cause of constant fatigue, even if you've slept enough and haven't been overworked.

Where should you start?

To rule out or confirm the presence of diabetes, the first step is to get a blood test for fasting glucose levels. The standard readings are:

4.1-6.1 mmol/L (venous blood)
3.33-5.55 mmol/l (capillary blood)

If the reference value is near the upper limit of the norm, the doctor may suspect prediabetes. If the sugar level exceeds the norm by one unit or more it may indicate diabetes. In this case, additional tests will be ordered to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

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