Definitions

Ketoacidosis (Acidosis): What happens in the body when not enough insulin is available. Blood sugar is usually high at this time. Moderate or large ketones are present in the urine as well as in the body.

Ketostix: Strips for measuring urine ketones (acetone). They are also available as Ketodiastix (for urine ketones and sugar).

Ketones (Acetone): The chemicals that appear when not enough insulin is present and fat is broken down. Acetest tablets, Ketostix or Chemstrip K measure urine ketones. The Precision Xtra measures blood beta ketones.

mg/dl: Milligrams of material in a measured amount (100cc). Blood sugar (glucose) levels are expressed in these terms in the U.S., but they are usually expressed as mmol/L in Europe. It is possible to convert mg/dl to mmol/L by dividing by 18 (or multiplying by 0.0555). The opposite is done to go from mmol/L to mg/dl.

mmol/L: Method of measuring the amount of a material (sugar or ketones) in the blood. This method is usually used in Europe.

Void: Passage of urine