Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by TimmyMac on February 4, 2011 at 4:04am

I'm not sure who decided arm testing was less painful... OW!!!! :(

I tried it 3 times, and all 3 times it bled a TON and left a quarter sized bruise.

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on February 4, 2011 at 4:35am

I don't do any arm testing, but I do test the sides of my finger and work right down the finger, you can lance all three joints, but the bigger joints require a deeper lance. Dr. B actually recommends testing the top of the hand and underneath the fingernail (I've not braved that one).

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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on February 4, 2011 at 11:47pm

I did, and it hurt like hell, and didn't give enough blood to be usable. In my numerous observations of human hands (!), I have noticed that some people have something like a fat pad just under their nail, and some don't. If you have that fat pad, you may be able to use that site, but if not, don't even try it.

About arm testing, I tried that once too, and didn't like it at all, because of the mark it left. My fingers are not noticeably scarred, and truly no one would notice that I've tested a lot, but I'd hate to have red marks all over my arms. Another "sounds good" but not so good in practice, like the Exubera inhaler.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Miles on February 4, 2011 at 7:09am

I just wipe the puncture with the alcohol pad I use before using the lancet holder, in order to stop the bleeding.

But then, I test only about one a day, so my methods may be less important even though I can test only one hand.


The punctures seldom show for long, even though I usually change the lancets months apart, EXCEPT before and after I let anyone else use the same lancet holder.

A T2 for 9 years

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Permalink Reply by Andie on February 4, 2011 at 10:35am

I am ashamed to admit it, but I lick my fingers after testing and just apply hand lotion throughout the day. Nothing special. Also, just wondering how frequently people change their lancet? I test 6-8 times per day and am doing good if I change the lancet a couple of times a week. Is that bad?

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Permalink Reply by Doris D on February 4, 2011 at 10:44am

Change my lancet? Let's see here...............Everytime someone else uses it and about every 2 months. LOL! My daughter is a Type 1 too and uses my lancets sometimes. Then we keep a check on the g-kid too.

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Permalink Reply by Rickst29 on February 4, 2011 at 1:45pm

Doris, I've got no concern with a bit of your pain (you're way tougher than I am) ;) But I see a possible issue with your daughter's use of your already-used lancets:

When you're re-poking yourself with small amounts of your own fauna (and skin, and blood) left on the needle, there's very little risk of creating a problem. But, when your DD pokes your stuff into her finger (and then leaves the lancet in place, causing you to poke her stuff into yours... it's analogous to sharing dirty needles.

It's not quite as bad an injection needles. They always leave any "dirt" which was on them behind; while squeezing the blood out after the poke helps to wash bad things out and away in our case. (This breakage of the "never squeeze to get blood" rule is ignored by almost everyone, every time. I ALWAYS squeeze!)

It's up to you, but I wouldn't allow it within my family.

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Permalink Reply by Rickst29 on February 4, 2011 at 1:23pm

I used to use the notorious "Daylight Savings" method:

Spring Forward... and change the lancet!
Fall Back... and change the lancet again!

But now that I use 33-gauge lancets, the sharpness fails pretty quickly. I change about once per week.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Miles on February 4, 2011 at 2:45pm

A large fraction of the people on the alt.support.diabetes newsgroup try to change only once a year, except for adding a change before and after they let anyone else use their lancet holder. My usage is similar,except that a few times a year is easier for me.

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Permalink Reply by SilverLining on February 5, 2011 at 2:50pm

Since I've been testing for the last four months, I would press my finger to the next tissue sticking out of the box, I mean it is just a little tiny drop of blood, why waste the whole tissue? Then the FAM began to get up in arms about it and complain about the blood spotted tissues they were unknowingly grabbing. So, I've changed my ways and tuck the tissue into my kit :)

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