300+ Pricks Per Lancet

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Permalink Reply by Ed Parma on October 16, 2007 at 2:22pm

Yikes - once a week for me- don't they get dull on you? I must have tough skin !

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Permalink Reply by Applefarmer on February 2, 2008 at 3:26pm

months, I switch out lancets and sterilize in alcohol using a shot glass. Handy, convenient, safe and inexpensive. Two lancets last months.

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Permalink Reply by Dee Meloche on February 2, 2008 at 4:01pm

I change mine when it starts to get dull which is about once every 2 weeks.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Strumello on February 15, 2008 at 6:43pm

I change my lancet when I no longer get any blood. I had used my last lancet for about 8 months! I never used to use alcohol on my fingertips because it dries the skin, but I find that if I cannot wash my hands, then alcohol will work when I'm on the go (otherwise, residues on your fingers can impact your test results). Generally, however, I think most people reuse lancets for a long time. The Insulin-Pumpers listserve group on the Internet sends out an annual reminder to change them once a year ... its become kind of a running joke among the members!

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Permalink Reply by Theodora on February 17, 2008 at 11:33am

I switch mine out every time I open a new bottle of test strips. I was using them longer but after a month or two the sites stopped healing well and showed signs of minor infection. I suppose I could try swapping them out every month instead, which would be a reasonable compromise except that I am terrible at remembering things. (Like my poor thyroid's meds in the morning... bah.) Switching lancets whenever I open a new box of test strips is much more convenient for me.

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Permalink Reply by Karen on February 17, 2008 at 12:51pm

Dear Mollie,
There is something that I need to ask you......Are you talking about the lancets itself that you prick your finger or leg or arm??? if so I test almost 6-7 times during the day and I change it everytime due to it is pricking you and you are getting blood from the site you test at and there might be a very small I mean very small amount of blood on the needle that you cannot see so that is why I use a new lancet everytime...( it would be consider cross contamination of blood). If you are using the same one everytime and you do go prick yourself and there might be dirt and even dried blood on it and you do it again I would think that you might get infection

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Permalink Reply by Bill on February 17, 2008 at 8:02pm

Here's my 2¢:

Lancets are covered by my insurance company, but for ease of testing (read: SPEED), I change mine every morning. I can dispose of the old one properly, and I never worry about dullness, or infection (whether I would get them or not).

Now when it comes to alcohol swabs, I always use them. Everyone has their own preferences, but my fingers don't suffer from dry out (and I've only been testing my blood sugar on and off for over 28 years). I can't see taking the time to wash my hands every time I test, when I test 15 + times per day. I use the more expensive BD alcohol swabs (which are not covered under my insurance), because after I test, I put the used alcohol swab and the used test strip in the swab's foil package, roll it up, and throw it into my pocket (to dispose of later). The cheaper swab's foil packages fall apart way too easily. I have seen the concerns others have brought up about inaccurate testing using alcohol swabs, but all you have to do is wipe the alcohol off your finger before lancing: problem solved.

By the way, I only test on the sides of my fingers... working on a computer (and typing a lot) all day long does not go well with testing on the "pads" of my fingers.

I really think changing lancets and using (or not using) alcohol swabs depends (in large part) on how many times per day an individual tests.

-Bill

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Permalink Reply by Mike Campana on February 18, 2008 at 5:00am

Good thoughts Bill! I'm not a 15+ a day tester, but a solid 6-10. I usually keep a bottle of purell handy, whether at work, home or travel size if I'm on the move. I've been type 1 for 15 years and stopped using alcohol pads roughly 14 years ago. Not saying it's right, wrong or otherwise. It just seemed to me like one more thing on top of a long list of others to worry about. I don't shoot through my cloths and change pen caps daily, so I was never too worried.

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Permalink Reply by Josiah on February 18, 2008 at 12:35am

ouch! wouldn't that rip up your fingers?

i change mine every few days....so maybe 10-15 pricks?

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dennis on February 3, 2009 at 9:56am

I change my lancet every time I start a new package of strips.

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Permalink Reply by Sweeter on February 3, 2009 at 10:09am

That sounds like a good system.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon Paul Jones on February 3, 2009 at 10:13am

I get the impression from reading some of these replies that people think it's cool to use the same lancet "until it hurts. When I had no health insurance and had to but my own I would still change every day. Now that everyone else is paying for them, (aka Medicare) I use a new one everytime. I don't have to stick everytime. Being new on a pump I'm sticking myself more than a dozen times a day. Often all I have to do is squeeze a little.

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