Endocrinology-Diabetes Questions Pediatrician

What is the normal range for blood sugar?

Our pediatrician said my daughter needs her blood sugar checked. What is the normal range for blood sugar?

10 Answers

It can vary based on the lab but generally fasting sugar between 65 and 110 in kids
For non-diabetics a normal fasting sugar is 70-100. But if someone has diabetes the ranges are different depending on age and comorbidities. I usually recommend fasting sugars in the range of 70-130 for my patients that have diabetes.
Between 70-99
80-100
70 to 100 fasting, 70-126 non-fasting
Normal blood sugar depends on may factors, like age, time of day, and whether you have eaten. Depending on the age of your daughter, as low as 40 can be acceptable, as a newborn, for a short time, and as high as 140. But if your daughter is school age, and overweight, she is at high risk for diabetes, and I suspect that is the reason your doctor wants to check. If that
is the case, any blood sugar at any time of day, above 140 is a concern, and a fasting sugar, taken in the morning with nothing to eat since midnight, should always be less than 100.
80-120
This is a hard question to answer because it depends on the time of day it is measured & how close & how much & what kind of food has been eaten before the measurement. Here are some accepted values: Fasting 70-100 mg/dl (a value over 126 is diagnostic for diabetes.) After meals a value of 80-125 is normal though there is a lot of leeway as this value depends on how long after the meal is taken & how much & what was eaten. A high carbohydrate intake will give a higher value than a high protein &/or fatty meal. For Fasting a value less that 100 is normal. A value 100-125 is called Pre-diabetes & a value 126 or greater is diabetes. Get a fasting value & if normal OK. If abnormal >100 get a value by a glucose tolerance test or 1-2hrs after drinking a liquid test meal. The fasting though will probably tell you what you want to know.
Normal range of blood sugars:
Blood sugars are mainly controlled by a hormone called insulin, though, other hormones such as adrenalin, glucagon, cortisol and growth hormone are involved to various extents in the maintainance of normoglycemia. Abnormality in these hormones can lead to either high blood sugars (diabetes) or low blood sugars (hypoglycemia).
Abnormal blood sugars can be evaluated by using;
1) Fasting blood sugars
2) Standard glucola 75 grams for adults and 75-100grams for pregnant women
3) Heavy carbohydrate meals
Normal blood sugars are defined differently based on wheter it is fasting blood sugar or non fasting blood sugar. When a person with out diabetes fasts for 8 hours the blood sugar should be less than 100mg/dl. On the other hand if the person eats food especially high in carbohydrates or standard glucola, the blood sugars should be less than 140mg/dl at 2 hours after eating a meal or glucola. Three hours after eating a meal a normal person should have blood sugars less than 100mg/dl. In a healthy person an hour after eating a big meal, the blood sugars should not be greater than 180mg/dl.
In a non diabetic patient the normal fasting blood sugars are between 70-100mg/dl. Any blood sugar below 70mg/dl is defined as hypoglycemia. And any fasting blood sugar greater than 100mg/dl is defined as hyperglycemia. Fasting blood sugars between 100-125mg/dl are defined prediabetes. Fasting blood sugars greater than 126mg/dl is considered diabetes.
We can also measure the status of blood sugars in a non diabetic patient using Hemoglobin A1c. Normal hemoglobin A1c is 4.5-5.6%. HBA1c between 5.7-6.4% is considered prediabetes and greater than 6.5% is demeed diabetes.
In diabetic patients HBA1c is used to monitor the progress of the treament of the diabetes while in healthy patients it can be used to diagnose diabetes.
Good Luck

Usually 80 to 110 fasting but it can be higher after eating