Side by side

Fasting blood sugar

Glucose at a single moment after 8 hours without food

Strength: Cheap, fast, widely available

Limitation: A snapshot only — skewed by what you ate yesterday, illness or stress, and requires genuine fasting

HbA1c

Average blood sugar over roughly 3 months

Strength: No fasting needed, cannot be gamed by one day of good behaviour, better for tracking control

Limitation: More expensive; unreliable in sickle cell disease and can read falsely high in iron deficiency anaemia

Which to choose

HbA1c is generally the more reliable test, particularly for diagnosis and for monitoring. The important Nigerian caveat is sickle cell disease and trait, which interfere with some HbA1c methods — tell the lab, because an alternative may be needed.

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HbA1c Test Blood Sugar Test

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Mon–Sat, 9AM–5PM · Akoka, Yaba, Lagos

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General information, not medical advice. All visits by appointment.