Blessing Health offering no cost diabetes testing Monday at Horizons

QUINCY — People living with diabetes, or people who are at higher-than-average risk for developing the disease due to family history, race or other factors, are invited to a no-cost A1C screening offered by Blessing Health.

The free, non-fasting blood test will be conducted from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at Horizons, 224 S. Eighth. No appointment is required. Those attending the screening should enter the Horizons building through the door near Eighth Street.

The A1C test helps to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes. Its results also help patients and their healthcare providers manage the disease.

Diabetes occurs when the body is either not producing or not properly using the insulin it naturally produces. That leads to organ-damaging high levels of blood sugar contributing to heart, kidney, vision, and circulatory problems, as well as to disability or death.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. It is estimated that 1 in 10 Americans, or 37 million people, have diabetes, but 1 in 5 of them don’t know they have the disease because people often don’t notice symptoms in the early stages of diabetes.

Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, include:

• 45 years or older
• Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
• Being overweight
• Being physically active less than three times a week
• African Americans are at higher risk than other racial groups

Symptoms of diabetes include:

• Frequent urination, often at night
• Excessive hunger and thirst
• Unexplained weight loss
• Blurry vision
• Numb or tingling hands or feet
• Exhaustion
• Very dry skin
• Slow healing sores
• Frequent infections