Urine and Blood Ketones

When the body does not have enough insulin, fats are used for fuel instead of glucose. A by-product of burning fats is the production of ketones. Ketones are passed in the urine and can be detected with a urine test.

If you do not have diabetes, you usually have only small amounts of ketones in your blood and urine. If you have diabetes, however, you may have high amounts of ketones and acid, a condition known as ketoacidosis. This condition can cause nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain and can be life threatening.

You may use urine dipsticks to rapidly and easily measure the ketones in your urine. You dip a dipstick in your urine and follow the instruction on the package to see if you have a high amount of ketones.

If you have type 1 diabetes, are pregnant with preexisting diabetes, or who have diabetes caused by pregnancy (gestational diabetes), you should check your urine for ketones. If you have diabetes and are ill, under stress, or have any symptoms of high ketones, you should also test your urine for ketones.

Results of ketone testing should be interpreted with care. High ketone levels are found when patients are pregnant (in the first morning urine sample), starving, or recovering from a hypoglycemic episode.

There are now tests for measuring ketones in blood that your doctor may use or you can use at home. Some measure a specific ketone (beta-hydroxybuyric acid) that patients with diabetic ketoacidosis may have.

It is still not known which type of ketone test -blood or urine-- offers more aid to people with diabetes.